Del Bosque’s double standards

It's certainly been a troublesome month for David de Gea.

His protracted transfer saga has done himself, Real Madrid and his current club Manchester Utd no favours. For a moment, it seemed his transfer to Real Madrid would be completed, but due to the paperwork being sent to the LFP after the deadline, he remains a United player. In addition, the 24-year-old has not started any of his club’s first four League games, not starting for the Red Devils since their friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in July.

Consequently, it has prompted Vicente del Bosque to cast doubt over De Gea's place in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, should his lack of competitive action continue, despite picking him for La Roja’s upcoming qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia. “I hope that he starts playing again and is happy, and if he plays well we can bring him along, otherwise if he doesn't play it will be very difficult for him to come,” the Coach recently told Marca.

On face value, it can be argued Del Bosque is being sensible as De Gea hasn't played any football since pre-season, while other custodians in the national team like Porto new boy Iker Casillas and the promising Sergio Rico of Sevilla are.

However, scratch below the surface and it can be countered that Del Bosque is being hypocritical. The former Madrid boss was faced with the same dilemma with Casillas last year. Following a bust-up with then-Blancos trainer Jose Mourinho, he was replaced by Diego Lopez for the second half of the 2012-13 season.

The following campaign, Casillas regained his place in the Madrid line-up for cup matches, leading to splits among the side's fanbase on whether he should have been a starter for Los Blancos or even Spain.

However, despite Casillas’ lack of competitive football, Del Bosque did not utter the same words as he did for De Gea. He picked the veteran for Spain’s World Cup squad last year and selected him to start in goal. Even when Spain lost 5-1 to Netherlands in their group opener, Del Bosque was quick to shield Casillas and absolve him from any blame.

It could be argued other 'keepers deserved to start ahead of Casillas. De Gea had been in great form for United, while Diego Lopez even warranted a call-up. It seems Del Bosque’s comments don't stack up to the reality of his previous decisions.

The good thing for De Gea is that he will be ushered back into the United squad after Sergio Romero's less-than-convincing performances in his absence. At least he will not suffer the brutal ostracism that Victor Valdes has suffered under Louis van Gaal, but it does seem that consistency is lacking with Del Bosque when it comes to selecting his shot-stoppers.

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