One of the best goalkeepers of this generation had found himself out of a top European club for quite some time.
And whilst some have speculated that the end is nigh for 33-year-old David de Gea, the former Manchester United shot stopper was given a second chance at reviving his career when ACF Fiorentina acquired his services for the 2024/25 Serie A season.
As a lifelong Man United supporter, seeing de Gea don a different goalie kit is unusual to me.
Breathing new life into his career, one save at a time
Had you not been up to speed with the Italian top flight, then you may have missed a bunch of de Gea’s heroics for La Viola.
The sort of stuff he did on a daily basis for the Red Devils.
Despite a poor showing in his debut for La Viola—a Conference League match against Hungarian club Puskas Akademia—the 6-foot-4 goalie made amends for himself and bounced back in a big way when it came to the reverse fixture.
With Fiorentina conceding a late penalty—along with being down to nine men—the match went into a shootout to determine who would advance. Luckily for Fiorentina, they have within their ranks a Hall of Famer of a keeper.
La Viola found it difficult to separate themselves from their opponents, but had found their saving grace when de Gea—to go with his multitude of saves in the full 90 minutes and extra-time—saved Roland Szolnoki’s spot kick to give Fiorentina the edge, which eventually helped them advance in the tournament’s league phase.
He was an unused sub against Monza, with his Serie A debut coming in a 3-2 loss against Atalanta, where his performance was marred after conceding two goals in the span of one minute.
It was a time where his detractors went at him full send, telling the former Spanish international that he just wasn’t the player he used to be.
He then had decent showings against Lazio and Empoli, claiming his first clean sheet with the club in the latter.
De Gea’s crowning moment so far came in the high-stakes match versus AC Milan, when the former two-time Premier League Golden Glove winner turned back the hands of time to produce a performance that defy the SBOTOP Serie A 2024 odds.
Milan’s Mike Maignan saved an earlier spot kick from La Viola before Yacine Adli scored first to make it 1-0 to the home side. Then the first of two penalty saves from the man who could’ve saved Titanic from sinking arrived right before half-time, with David de Gea guessing where Theo Hernandez would place his shot, thus preventing an equaliser.
The second save happened in the 55th minute, and this time, it was Tammy Abraham who was hounded by a towering de Gea, palming away his bottom-left shot as ‘#DaveSaves’ once again guessed in the right direction.
Milan would eventually score via Christian Pulisic, but de Gea’s brilliance was enough to keep I Rossoneri at bay.
Fiorentina now have two wins and a draw in their last three Serie A 2024 results, bringing a lot of confidence with them as they take on Lecce after the international break.
How does the future look for hiam?
Initially, de Gea had only signed a 1-year contract that’s worth about €3 million.
That is far from what he used to earn with Manchester United, where his last contract extension with the club was worth around £400,000 per week.
Still a very capable goalkeeper with—I’d like to believe—plenty more years of his career ahead of him, de Gea can be an integral part of Fiorentina’s future should both parties be able to work out an appropriate extension.
For his avid supporters within the club, they ought to pray that his future demands do not outpace his form, as Fiorentina are obviously not a club that can splash the cash the way European giants could.
The club are also in the midst of renovating Stadio Artemio Franchi—La Viola’s home ground since 1931. And if de Gea will demand mammoth wages after his current contract expires, then I cannot see any reason how Fiorentina will be able to retain him.
But looking at how things are right now, perhaps it is a perfect fit between Florence and de Gea.
Regardless of what the future brings, Fiorentina fans won’t easily forget the time when one of the world’s best had joined them for a cheap price.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
