United number one position in safe hands

Sir Alex Ferguson has likened new keeper David de Gea to Petr Cech as the young stopper bids to fill the gloves of Edwin Van der Sar and, hopefully, follow in the famous footsteps of Peter Schmeichel at Old Trafford.

So-called experts reckon that the £18m signing from Atletico Madrid, at 20, is too young to handle the responsibility of being United’s new No.1. Sir Alex, who knows a thing or two about players, doesn’t go along with that view.

Fergie insisted: "I went to see Petr Cech when he was at Rennes. I said to myself ‘yeah, he's too young'. But Chelsea bought him at the end of the season for £7m and he's never been out of the team.

"So age doesn't matter when you have the ability of a goalkeeper like Petr Cech or, we know, David De Gea."

Sir Alex added: "David is young, he's quick, he has fantastic presence and composure and his use of the ball is outstanding."

A few facts about United’s new No.1:

De Gea joined Atlético Madrid's youth system at the age of ten, and made his way up through the ranks at the club.

He spent his first professional seasons playing for Atlético Madrid B in Segunda División B. With first choice goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo away on international duty at the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Cup, De Gea was called up to the senior side as cover for Roberto.

He made his debut for the Atlético first team at the age of 18 on 30 September 2009, coming on as a substitute after Roberto was injured after 26 minutes of Atlético's Champions League group stage match away to Porto.

De Gea finished the 2009–10 season as the starting 'number one'. He won two man of the match awards along the way, against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia.

He appeared in eight games in the club's victorious UEFA Europa League campaign, including the 2–1 final win against Fulham.

De Gea started 2010–11 in impressive fashion, helping Atlético win the season's UEFA Super Cup. In the 90th minute of the 2–0 win against Internazionale, he saved a Diego Milito penalty kick.

Source: www.givemefootball.com

Sir Alex Ferguson admits finding replacement for Paul Scholes is a difficult task for Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has said that finding a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes is proving difficult.

Scholes retired at the end of last season following a remarkable career at Old Trafford, where he was a pivotal player in the club's resurgence of the past two decades.

Manchester United have made three big signings so far this summer and it is thought that Sir Alex is keen on bringing in another midfielder, but he could not provide any updates regarding a possible replacement for Scholes when he spoke to reporters in the USA during the club's pre-season tour.

"We have signed three players - David de Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young - and we are very comfortable with that," he said.

"We have filled the gaps we needed to fill and we also have players coming back from loan like Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley and Mame Biram Diouf.

"The one area we are having difficulty with is finding someone to replace Paul Scholes.

"That would be a very difficult thing to do in any event and at the moment there is nothing to report."

Despite winning a record-breaking 19th league title last season, the United boss maintained that he would not be resting on his laurels.

"The expectation of the club keeps me motivated," he added.

"We never want to let ourselves down because of that.

"Every season is the same. A couple of weeks after the season is over you find out what the fixtures are.

"You look at the first one, and think that is a hard game. Then you look at the next, and the next. Then you see the Christmas fixtures. You think 'crumbs, we might end up with no points'."

Sir Alex added that it is the continued success of the club’s youngsters which is keeping him going at Old Trafford, and suggested that there are several players in the team's youth ranks that could emerge as stars.

"The thing that keeps you young is young people," he said.

"It is good having young people around you.

"Last season our youth team won the Youth Cup. It created a great excitement at Manchester United.

"A lot of first team players came to the final because they love to see the young players progressing too and there are two or three in that team who will do very well."

Source: www.goal.com