Edwin van der Sar has had a fantastic final season – he’s been a defensive bedrock and a key part of every success that Manchester United have enjoyed this season. Unfortunately for United’s fans, he’s set to turn in his gloves at the end of the season and put an end to an impressive career. The 40-year-old has won three Premier League titles with United (perhaps four by the end of the season) as well as the 2008 Champion’s League and will be extremely difficult to replace.
But needs must and the media have circulated a number of potential replacements for the Dutchman. The name that has appeared most in conjunction with the opening for a new goalkeeper at Manchester United is Atletico Madrid’s David De Gea.
That was until Manchester United faced German side Schalke ‘04 in the first-leg of the semi-final of the Champion’s League on Tuesday evening. Manuel Neuer, who also captains Schalke, put in a man-of-the-match performance against the Red Devils that even had Sir Alex Ferguson purring with delight.
“I think in my time at United this was the finest display of goalkeeping against us. I’m sure there were other feats – but tonight we saw a very good one.”
If it weren’t for Neuer, the scoreline could well have been 10-0 in United’s favour. The trouble is that Neuer appears to be set on a summer move to Bayern Munich and thus would be unlikely to consider any advances made by United. Even Ferguson admitted as much when he told the Press, “I think we know that (he will join Bayern) – we know that for sure.”
If he wants to stay in Germany there’s very little that United or Sir Alex Ferguson can do. If I were a United fan, however, I wouldn’t give up hope just yet – after all, money talks. Whilst Bayern’s president Uli Hoeness has admitted they are keen on bringing Neuer to the Allianz Arena, he also noted that they would be unwilling to pay “an astromomical sum” for the German stopper.
How much cash they’d be willing to part with remains to be seen, but could United have more financial clout in this area? We’ve already heard reports that United were willing to part with almost £20m for David De Gea’s services and the same amount of cash could probably persuade Schalke to part with Neuer.
I for one hope that United don’t give up on their pursuit of Manuel Neuer. Though the odds may be in Bayern’s favour at the moment, it’s worth keeping track of the situation and perhaps launching a tentative bid for his services. David De Gea is a capable keeper but wouldn’t be my first choice to replace Van der Sar at the season’s close. He may be one of the world’s best shot-stoppers, but he doesn’t command his area with as much force as Neuer and has a frustrating propensity towards flapping at crosses.
Neuer, on the other hand is the complete package: he’s commanding, calm and a great shot-stopper. I hope that Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t relent on pursuing the German just yet.
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good article.
@ 1st i don’t really know the difference between de gea n neuer.
now i know.