Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag blames David de Gea’s poor kicking after Paul Scholes criticized ‘different ball’

Erik ten Hag has declared he cannot ‘ignore’ David de Gea’s poor kicking – but blamed ‘another ball’ for his unconvincing performance in the Europa League.

The Manchester United goalkeeper has been asked about his passing skills this season as Ten Hag looks to build up attacks from behind.

But he was often overwhelmed with the ball at his feet, as demonstrated by United’s 4-1 win over Real Betis at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

A pass in particular almost put Betis ahead just before the break, Red Devils legend Paul Scholes then hit the distribution of the 32-year-old.

The BT Sport pundit said: “David is not the best footballer, let me put it that way. Very strange passport.”

And Ten Hag has stated he can’t ignore his misguided kicks, although he has offered an explanation as to why his passport wasn’t up to date.

He said: “As of today, I can’t ignore it, but I think we’ve seen a lot of games that he’s done really well.

“I don’t know what the reason was. There was a lot of wind, a different ball, he probably had problems with that.

“But I know we can handle it and he will do better on Sunday [against Southampton].

“We’re working on it, but David is working on it.

“But I think we’ve seen this season that he’s improving and he’ll keep improving, I’m sure.”

De Gea faces an uncertain future at the Theater of Dreams as his contract expires in the summer, although United have the option to trigger a one-year extension.

Despite claims that United are keen to offer him a new long-term contract, he is taking a £250,000-a-week pay cut.

However, it’s believed United will look to sign another shot-stopper at the end of the season, with Leeds’ Illan Meslier a possible option.

Meanwhile, club icon Gary Neville has named Brentford’s David Raya as a possible long-term successor to De Gea.

Speaking on The Overlap earlier this month, he remarked: “I think Raya would interest United in the summer.

“I was at Brentford on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago. I think he will become available, he only has one year left.

“I think he might step up.”