Was Louis van Gaal wrong in letting go of Mexican striker Javier Hernandez? Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea certainly seems to think so.
Since his move from the red half of Manchester to Bayer Leverkusen, Hernandez, who is also fondly called Chicharito . has been on top form, netting 10 times in 14 appearances.
However, the Mexican forward seems to have found his form only recently, as he has scored eight of these goals in his last six matches across all competitions.
“I don’t know,” said De Gea to Spanish channel ESPN Deportes. “These are decisions for the coach. But in my team he would always play. He was an undisputed starter before and player of the year at United. He can get you 20, 30 goals a season. I would like a lot to play with him again, hopefully it can happen.”
The Spanish international also praised Hernandez for his prolific form in front of goal, saying, a I learned from him when I came to Manchester, he is a hard worker, always first to training and last to leave. He does not relax if he is not playing, keeps working hard.a
Less opportunities made it a difficulta for Hernandez
De Gea expressed his disbelief at the fact that both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal have not used the services of Javier Hernandez as much, in spite of the Mexican being great in front of goal.
“He has scored eight or nine goals in very few games. The truth is he is doing well at Leverkusen and everyone knows Chicharito is a goal scorer,a said De Gea. “It is difficult for him, for any player, to play little,” he said. “Then when he came on, he scored.
“They were difficult moments, but everyone trusts in him, knows the level he has,a the Spaniard continued. a He always does something, always scores goals when he gets playing time. He is showing now he is among best goal scorers in the world.”
Hernandez is certainly in a league (Bundesliga), where the in-form goalscorers are on fire, at the moment. The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Mueller and Salomon Kalou scoring at free will. While Hernandez is still far away from these forwards, it seems only a matter of time before he catches up with a few of them, if he keeps his current form going.