Kepa and De Gea give Luis Enrique a World Cup selection headache

The Spanish coach has fixed ideas, and the more he's pressed, the more he insists on his own thoughts.

In goal, there was a time when he had to put up with De Gea as first-choice, but his blunders became too much - even for the coach himself - and so the Manchester Utd keeper ended up disappearing not only from the starting eleven but from the international squad altogether.

The same thing happened to Kepa when his failures at Chelsea ended up sending him to his club's bench and also away from the national team. 

But times change and both are unwilling to give up their dreams of playing in the World Cup in Qatar. In the case of De Gea, last week he clocked his 500th game for the Old Trafford club. Four times club player of the season, De Gea seems to be recovering the form that once made him one of the most sought-after goalkeepers in the world. 

Things are also going better now for Kepa. His resurrection has come at the hands of Graham Potter (47), his new coach.

The departure of Thomas Tuchel, who preferred Eduoard Mendy (30) as a starter, has benefited the Basque native in such a way that he has even been singled out for praise from his manager after the stratospheric saves he made against Aston Villa, a game where he also kept a clean sheet.

"We like Kepa's form a lot. It's good that we have competition in that area, we need players to push each other as that's how they improve. I am really impressed with his character and personality. 

"He takes responsibility and it's nice when these kinds of people get rewarded for their efforts," Potter said. 

After time out in the cold and amidst strong competition for places, it will be interesting to see if Kepa and De Gea are able to maintain their current form at Chelsea and Manchester United. If they can, they may finally regain their places in the Spanish national team just in time for the World Cup in Qatar.