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Has David de Gea taken on a ‘Poisoned Chalice’

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David De Gea is a £20m target for Manchester UnitedSo Manchester United have signed David de Gea, the man they hope will effectively fill the boots of the legendary Edwin Van der Sar. Alex Ferguson and his assorted scouts have searched far and wide in finding someone they feel has the mantle in replacing the Dutchman whilst being able to play for such a prestigious club as United and at 20 years old, it is hoped that de Gea will be at Old Trafford for many years to come. But will he be one of many in the next few years who fail to live up his manager’s expectations? A kind of, ‘The Struggle to Replace a Great Goalkeeper: Part 2’.

I am of course referring to the trouble Ferguson and United had in replacing Peter Schmeichel after his departure twelve years ago. The new signing from Athletico Madrid has been lauded by many in Spain as the best keeper to come out of the country since the emergence of Iker Casillas in the 1990’s, but whether he was Ferguson’s first choice to take command of the United goal is another story.

The reason why I say this is that it is well known how much he admired Manuel Neuer, the ex-Schalke 04 goalkeeper who produced a man-of-the-match performance against the Red Devils last April despite conceding two goals. He lost out on his signature to Bayern Munich, but Ferguson is no fool and he knows the quality that his new arrival – still glowing in European Under-21 Championship glory with Spain – has at his disposal. Despite his talent, will he be the man who will adequately; take over from Van der Sar?

One could presume that de Gea’s job will be made easier by the formidable defence that he will have in front of him with the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Chris Smalling and the Da Silva twins at his calling, but the pressures of playing two or three times a week with a team continually striving for excellence in every game where one mishap can be detrimental to a title bid can take its toll.

That is why, like many before him, particularly in the wake of Schmeichel’s exit, goalkeepers have failed to live up to expectations within the Theatre of Dreams. After the Danish legend left to join Portuguese side, Sporting Lisbon in 1999, a succession of first-rate goalkeepers were brought in.

First, it was Mark Bosnich from Aston Villa who would be in the firing line, but having gained an injury early on in his second stint at the club (he played a few games for them at the start of his career) and a reputation for allegedly, according to Roy Keane, being ‘lazy in training’, he was eventually offloaded to Chelsea in 2001 for a free transfer after less than two seasons at Old Trafford.

He did win a Premiership and Intercontinental Cup medal in 1999/2000 – his first campaign – but it was obvious that Ferguson was not sufficiently impressed enough to have him as his ‘Number One’, which could be proved by the £7.8million the club paid Monaco for the services of Fabian Barthez soon after the end of that campaign.

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