Erik ten Hag has an important first job on his hands at Man Utd with the goalkeeping situation still unresolved.

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You know it has been a bad season when David de Gea is the likely winner of the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award.

A goalkeeper being identified as the most important player at a club as elite as United not only highlights their immense individual shot-stopping ability, but it highlights a porous defence which is failing to do its job.

In three of the four previous seasons in which De Gea won the Player of the Year award, United finished trophyless. If he does win it this year, that will make it four out of five. In half of those seasons, United have also sacked a manager. If he wins it again this season, it will be three out of five, further evidence of the worrying trend his accolade represents.

READ MORE: Newcastle still interested in signing Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson

If De Gea is named as United's Player of the Year next season as well, then it is safe to presume things would have gone wrong for Erik ten Hag too. That is, if he even backs the Spaniard as his No.1 this summer.

A year ago, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted the goalkeeping dynamic between Dean Henderson and De Gea was 'unsustainable' for a second season, yet it still remains largely unresolved.

In July, Henderson was set to start the season as United's No.1 but in a sliding door moment, he contracted Covid-19 in his first week of pre-season training. It kept him out of contention until September, by which time De Gea had produced huge saves in the opening matches of the season and recovered the confidence he had lost earlier in the year.

In a parallel universe, the Englishman would have been first-choice for this entire season, and De Gea would be the one looking to leave this season. Instead, it is Henderson who is eager to go and get regular game time and rejuvenate his hopes of a World Cup call-up later this year.

Newcastle remain interested in signing Henderson this summer having been in discussions to sign him on deadline day in January and United wouldn't find it difficult to shift a goalkeeper as highly-rated as he is.

However, the big decision lies with Ten Hag.

The 52-year-old was interested in signing Henderson on loan for Ajax in January as well and has typically looked to utilise a goalkeeper who is comfortable with his feet and building attacks from the back.

There is a consensus that while De Gea might be an exceptional shot-stopper, many of the saves he has had to make have been a result of his poor kicking in the first place. Henderson isn't as good at making reaction stops, but has greater distributional skills and long-term potential to work on other areas of his game.

The arrival of Ten Hag provides the power to make a huge call in the 'keeping department and if the new manager has concerns about De Gea's style of play then he needs to be given the backing to demote him if he wants to.

As a result, United's most likely Player of the Year could potentially be playing his final season at the club, though it would be much harder to shift the 31-year-old given his age and wage.

No matter the decision, it remains unsustainable for both De Gea and Henderson to remain at Old Trafford next season, and a year after Solskjaer failed to rectify the issue it would be a strong statement of intent if Ten Hag managed to do so instead.

United have two excellent goalkeeping options, but only one of them is a keeper.