Manchester United: Top 11 Replacements for David de Gea
Allan JiangTransfers CorrespondentJanuary 29, 2012Manchester United: Top 11 Replacements for David de Gea
David de Gea's command of English is non-existent, he flaps at crosses, his body language is terrible, he has bad eyes and that is why he's been a failure for Manchester United.
You can shrug off one mistake, you can overlook two mistakes and even be lenient by turning a blind eye to three mistakes.
But six mistakes so far for the third-most expensive goalkeeper of all time is ineptitude.
Buying a goalkeeper who has bad eyes makes as much sense as spending £7.4 million on some street kid that you've never seen or heard of.
The quicker de Gea has eye surgery, the better for Manchester United.
The problem for Sir Alex Ferguson is that Anders Lindegaard isn't a security blanket.
In fact, Peter Schmeichel believes Lindegaard isn't good enough for Manchester United.
So let's look at 11 possible signings that could be Manchester United's real No. 1.
Genk: László Köteles
27 years old, 6'1'', Hungarian
László Köteles accumulated the most saves during the UEFA Champions League group stages.
Ironically the best game he played, he conceded seven goals, but if not for his 11 saves—Genk would have lost by a historic margin.
He had a solid game against Chelsea where he saved a David Luiz penalty.
Ajax: Kenneth Vermeer
26 years old, 6'0'', Dutch
Kenneth Vermeer has profited from Maarten Stekelenburg's move to Roma.
Vermeer is blessed with catlike reflexes and is always active.
In the 0-0 draw against Lyon, he outperformed Hugo Lloris, making three more saves.
Sevilla: Javi Varas
29 years old, 6'0'', Spanish
Javi Varas didn't have a one-night-wonder against Barcelona because he was rock solid against Osasuna, Valencia and Mallorca.
Unsurprisingly in all aforementioned games, Sevilla kept clean sheets.
Twente: Nikolay Mihaylov
23 years old, 6'4'', Bulgarian
Liverpool's loss could be Manchester United's gain.
Nikolay Mihaylov was never going to beat out Pepe Reina and the Bulgarian's tenure at Anfield was complicated by his work permit being denied.
Since then, he's proven to be a reliable goalkeeper for Twente.
Bayer Leverkusen: René Adler
27 years old, 6'3'', German
René Adler would be the most realistic transfer because he's not wanted by Bayer Leverkusen and it remains to be seen if he's the Adler of old after knee surgery.
Leverkusen have invested the future in the prodigious Bernd Leno and Adler will be out of contract at the end of the season.
If Manchester United are going to buy David de Gea, who has bad eyes, they may as well take a risk with Adler's knees.
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Marc-André ter Stegen
19 years old, 6'3'', German
Borussia Mönchengladbach have protected themselves by extending ter Stegen's contract to 2015, so if Manchester United were to bid, they'd be paying a premium.
Ter Stegen exudes confidence whereas David de Gea's drooped shoulders and timid behaviour is concerning.
Newcastle United: Tim Krul
23 years old, 6'4'', Dutch
Tim Krul was an integral part of Newcastle United overachieving early in the season.
Aside from the 5-2 loss to Fulham, Krul has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in Europe.
Stuttgart: Sven Ulreich
23 years old, 6'4'', German
On form, Sven Ulreich is rated by kicker as the third-best footballer in the Bundesliga.
So it demonstrates world class performances from him because he's rated above Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribéry and Claudio Pizarro.
The Germans are loaded with young goalkeepers: Bernd Leno, Marc-André ter Stegen, Ron-Robert Zieler and Manuel Neuer.
Lyon: Hugo Lloris
25 years old, 6'2'', French
Manchester United should have spent £17 million on Hugo Lloris, instead they banked on David de Gea to overcome a language barrier and shoddy eyesight.
Lloris is reliable and solid whereas de Gea isn't.
Udinese: Samir Handanović
- 2011: Four penalties saved (Edinson Cavani, Mauro Zárate, Nemanja Vidić, Giampaolo Pazzini)
- 2010: Six penalties saved (Nicola Amoruso, Barreto [2], Samuel Eto'o, David Di Michele, Marek Hamšík)
- 2009: Three penalties saved (Massimo Maccarone, Franco Brienza, Antonio Cassano)
- 2008: Four penalties saved (Tamás Hajnal, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Kaká, Sebastian Giovinco)
27 years old, 6'4'', Slovenian
What separates Samir Handanović from most goalkeepers is his penalty saving prowess.
Swansea City: Michel Vorm
28 years old, 6'0'', Dutch
On name recognition, Michel Vorm wouldn't even be ranked in the top 20.
On form, Vorm is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
He saves 75 percent of his shots and he's made 80 saves.
To think Manchester United could have signed him for just £1.5 million...
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