DAVID DE GEA

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has praised goalkeeper David de Gea by saying that the Spaniard’s work in the gym is starting to pay off. The goalkeeper was highly criticised for his inconsistent performances after arriving from Spanish club Atletico Madrid for an enormous transfer fee of £ 18 million. This is one of the highest transfer fees paid for a goalkeeper, and a lot of was expected of the 20-year-old. He was signed as a replacement for Dutch international Edwin van Der Sar, who was retiring from football. However, de Gea struggled in his first season at Old Trafford, which led to rumours linking him with an exit away from a club.

Ferguson has also been switching between de Gea and Andreas Lindegaard in the search for a replacement for van Der Sar. Since the turn of the year, though, de Gea has been played consistently by Ferguson. He has also been hitting the gym on a consistent basis in order to beef up. One of the major struggles for de Gea has been in the crosses and set pieces. The time spent in the gym has paid off well according to Ferguson, who praised the goalkeeper after his impeccable performance in the 2-2 draw with West Ham.

“David is No 1 now, definitely. You have to thank our goalkeeping coach Eric Steele. The big improvement is in the physical part. He has put on nearly a stone in muscle, is much stronger and deals with the physical part a lot better. His first game last season was away from home against West Brom. The referee felt he was a young goalkeeper, who was not used to English football. There was a laxity in terms of protection for him,” said Ferguson, whose team are extremely close to winning the 20th league title.

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The manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, has hailed David De Gea for putting up a brilliant performance in the FA Cup match against Chelsea which was played at Old Trafford a few days ago.

In the match against Chelsea, United had started well and at one stage, the Red Devils were leading by 2-0. But, in the second half, they played poorly and Chelsea managed to bounce back with a couple of goals in a space of 9 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

The Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has said that he is finally happy to know that he is performing at the level people expect him to perform. The Spaniard arrived at Old Trafford relatively young at just 20 years of age.

The £ 18 million transfer fee, which is a British transfer record for goalkeeper, put a huge weight on his young shoulders during the initial stages of his United career. As a result, de Gea turned out with several inconsistent performances that questioned his future at Old Trafford. Ferguson constantly rotated between de Gea and Lindegaard in the hope of finding a replacement for Edwin van Der Sar. Read the rest of this entry »

Video clip Rating: five / five

The Spaniard David de Gea has come under intense criticism in recent weeks, which have led to suggestions that he might be sold in the summer as the manager Sir Alex Ferguson looks to cut his losses. The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper arrived at the club for record transfer fee of £ 18 million. However, he has struggled to cope with the physicality of the Premier league. He was recently responsible – to a certain extent – for United dropping two points in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham after his weak punch late in the game led to Clint Dempsey scoring the equaliser.

Following the decision by the Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes to leave the club at the end of his contract, there have been suggestions that Barcelona will be looking to take the 22-year-old back to Spain. However, De Gea has ruled out any such possibility of leaving Manchester United by saying that he remains the number one at the club. Ferguson has yet to decide between David de Gea and Andreas Lindegaard for the role of replacing Edwin van Der Sar, who retired more than 18 months ago. It is expected that Ferguson will be dropping De Gea to the bench for the FA Cup fourth-round match against Fulham during the weekend.

“From the moment I signed I considered myself the first-choice keeper at the club but it’s down to the manager. He rotates us when he feels it’s good for the team. But obviously I’ve played a few on the bounce now and that’s positive. For a goalkeeper it’s always important to have consistency and to be playing regularly. It’s good for confidence and morale,” said David de Gea. So far, he has made 15 appearances this season, which is slightly more than the eight appearances made by Lindegaard.

Video clip Score: 3 / 5

Video clip Score: four / 5