Manchester United will buy a goalkeeper in the summer, that much is clear. Who it will be is the question, but if we are to believe reports from Spain and other sources, United have had a bid accepted for the 20 year old Spaniard, David de Gea.
He has been nicknamed by his Athletico Madrid team mates as "van der gea" due to his resemblance to the current, and soon to retire Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der sar. He is tall, agile, commanding and holds the invaluable quality of being able to keep calm under pressure. It is these sorts of qualities that Sir Alex Ferguson desires to replace his current number 1 and avoid the repetition of the last goalkeeping 'crisis' when Peter Schmeichel left United.
The United manager would also be hopeful to avoid the situation that Arsenal have suffered over the past five years - lacking a commanding, regular, consistent goalkeeper. Arsenal have recently received good news on this front, with another United target Maarten Stekelenburg being quoted as saying:
"If an offer from Arsenal arrives, I will leave."So with David de Gea being reported as United's top target, it is time to have a look at what United fans should expect from him. 29 games this season has seen him keep 9 clean sheets while saving a total of 121 shots. Compared to van der sar, his statistics are not all to bad. The United goalkeeper has played 28, kept 12 clean sheets and made a total of 67 saves. I suggest the statistics are heavily effected by the quality of the defences, but they are interesting nevertheless. Watch highlights of De Gea below:
