Man Utd still need a new goalkeeper but after bungling one succession plan they will be playing catch-up in the transfer market.
Under the spotlight: the No.1 shirt at United could be passed on soon
Here’s a pub quiz question: how many goalkeepers played for Manchester United in the six years between Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar? The answer is ten.
In case you were wondering about the names: Bosnich, Van der Gouw, Culkin, Taibi, Barthez, Rachubka, Goram, Carroll, Ricardo, Howard.
It was telling Sir Alex Ferguson was not present for the unveiling of the first, Mark Bosnich. On his first day of pre-season training at The Cliff (where Bosnich had trained during his first spell with United), the Australian was late. By the end of the campaign, Bosnich had played for United for the last time.
The longest to last as No.1 was Fabien Barthez and his shelf life did not even extend to three seasons. Barthez’s denouement to the 2002-03 campaign was spent on the bench after two porous performances in the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid.
A month before Van der Sar signed his paperwork at Carrington in 2005, Ferguson was so uncertain of Roy Carroll he ordered Tim Howard to warm-up with a penalty shootout looming in the FA Cup final. Howard had stopped two Arsenal spot-kicks in the previous season’s Community Shield but he kept his tracksuit top on. All five Arsenal penalties flew past Carroll as they regained the cup.
Ferguson faced more trial and error after Van der Sar retired. David de Gea was dropped for Anders Lindegaard after his 22nd start – the infamous New Year’s Eve home defeat to Blackburn in 2011.
The chopping and changing continued into the next season. United shipped 32 goals and conceded first in 14 of their first 22 madcap fixtures. De Gea had started in 12 and Lindegaard 10.
De Gea eventually cemented his place in December. After a rocky first 18 months, he developed into the best ‘keeper in the world over a four-year spell and he was Ferguson’s last great signing.
Had Ferguson and his goalkeeping coach Eric Steele not skipped United’s League Cup tie at Scunthorpe to watch a teenage De Gea start against Valencia in September 2010, the waifish rookie would not have been an obvious heir to Van der Sar.
De Gea in action for Atletico a month after Ferguson first watched him
Manuel Neuer and Maarten Stekelenburg were more senior candidates and Ferguson’s cosy alliance with Jorge Mendes put Rui Patricio in the frame. Ferguson also gave consideration to an audacious move for Pepe Reina of Liverpool.
De Gea had only 18 months’ experience in senior football at the time he became British football’s most expensive ‘keeper in an £18.9million deal in June 2011. De Gea was 20 and Van der Sar had retired at the age of 35.
Now De Gea is in Van der Sar’s shoes. The contract De Gea is still expected to sign is not going to quell uncertainty over his future. David Beckham left a year after he shook hands with Ferguson on the Old Trafford pitch. So did the smaller fry of Giuseppe Rossi, Paddy McNair, Tyler Blackett, Ashley Young and James Garner. As did Andreas Pereira and Eric Bailly (on loan).
De Gea is not viewed as the No.1 for the long-term. That begs the question as to why United are planning for renewal photos in the Carrington press room.
Ferguson chopped and changed between De Gea and Lindegaard for 18 months
United and De Gea is a marriage of convenience. Recruiting a striker, a midfielder, possibly a defender and a goalkeeper in a single summer is something United could do without and they do not have the ruthlessness (or the wherewithal) to add four vertebrae to the spine.
United are actively scouring for the next long-term No.1. The club were in the process of hiring a goalkeeper recruitment analyst earlier in the season as they continue to invest in the data science department headed by Dominic Jordan. There is interest in the callow Anderlecht custodian Bart Verbruggen.
It would be remiss not to consider those who have usurped De Gea in the Spain squad. David Raya is out of contract at Brentford next year and Robert Sanchez has been suddenly replaced at Brighton by Jason Steele of Sunderland ‘Til I Die fame.
The problem United have is, as an agency source noted, there are not many good goalies out there. Even if United had intended to install the bolshy Dean Henderson as first choice, he is a doubt for the majority of pre-season after undergoing thigh surgery.
Henderson turned 26 in March
Like De Gea at a set-piece, United have stood still. Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, the Milan clubs and Newcastle have recruited new custodians in the last two years. Pep Guardiola erred with Claudio Bravo but was backed with Ederson ahead of his second season. Liverpool and Real Madrid recruited Alisson and Thibaut Courtois the following year in 2018.
Tottenham and United, two clubs with owners often accused of miserliness, have favoured a decade’s worth of longevity between the sticks. Hugo Lloris joined Spurs a year after United bought De Gea. Lloris and De Gea are joint-top for Premier League keepers’ errors leading to goals this season.
United could do with settling on a new number one rather than going through ten.
