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Luis Enrique has given David De Gea a brutal explanation for why he has been omitted from Spain's squad.
De Gea has just been crowned Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year for the fourth time but only managed to keep eight clean sheets in 38 games in Premier League.
It was De Gea's lowest tally since 2018/19 and United shipped a club record 57 goals as they finished sixth.
And for the second international break on a trot, De Gea, who has been capped 45 times for his country, was left out by Enrique.
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Athletic Bilbao's Unai Simon, Brentford's David Raya and Brighton's Robert Sanchez all got the nod for the next batch of fixtures.
And Enrique's comments appear to shed light on just why De Gea is so unfancied in the La Roja set-up.
"I look to have three starting goalkeepers and I think that right now I have them," he told a press conference prior to the Nations League clash with Czech Republic.
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"Honestly, I wouldn’t have an issue with any of the three of them starting,
"Unai has accumulated some interesting experience. A goalkeeper should start the play and generate the first superiority, they must dominate the aerial play.
“I need a goalkeeper that transmits peace and calmness to me - and that doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes, errors are part of football. But what they generate I like a lot.”
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De Gea was Spain's No.1 for the 2018 World Cup, where he made a costly mistake for a Cristiano Ronaldo strike in the opening game against Portugal.
In Euro 2020 last summer, he was second-fiddle to Simon and did not feature in Spain's run to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by winners Italy.
In terms of United, reports say De Gea is the favourite to replace Harry Maguire as captain under new boss Erik ten Hag this summer.
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The former Atletico Madrid man is seen as ideal candidate to lead the Red Devils going forward.
Topics: David De Gea, Spain, Luis Enrique, Manchester United
Josh Lawless