Van der Sar warns United keeper De Gea to deal with pressure of life at Old Trafford

Edwin van der Sar has told his successor David de Gea that he has to ‘deal with’ the pressure of being Manchester United goalkeeper and his £17.8million price tag.

De Gea has struggled to settle in the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson made the young Spaniard the most expensive keeper in the history of British football when he signed him from Atletico Madrid to replace veteran Van der Sar last summer. 

Man up! De Gea is in the spotlight after failing to establish himself firmly as United No 1 this season

Man up! De Gea is in the spotlight after failing to establish himself firmly as United No 1 this season

 

After being taken out of the firing line, the 21-year-old looked shaky on his first return against Liverpool but then made an outstanding late save to earn United a point at Chelsea on Sunday.

With Anders Lindegaard out of action for a month, De Gea faces another stern test against Kenny Dalglish’s side on Saturday and Van der Sar has warned that he must come to terms with life in the Old Trafford spotlight.

‘He has to deal with that,’ said the Dutchman, who won four Premier League titles and the European Cup with United. ‘They paid a lot of money for him and he has to come through that.

‘It’s always difficult if you’re coming into a new club and new league, especially the English one. It’s a very demanding one and can be very tough.’

Highs and lows: De Gea was beaten three times, including a stunner from Mata but also made crucial save at the death (below)

Highs and lows: De Gea was beaten three times, including a stunner from Mata but also made crucial save at the death (below)

Highs and lows: De Gea was beaten three times, including a stunner from Mata but also made crucial save at the death (below)

Van der Sar also paid tribute to Lindegaard who was beginning to stake a claim as United’s first-choice keeper before he suffered ankle ligament damage in training last week.

He added: ‘I spoke to Anders and he’s disappointed of course that he’s injured at the moment because he’s really been magnificent.’

After Paul Scholes came out of retirement last month, there have inevitably been questions about whether Van der Sar would do the same in light of United’s goalkeeping problems.

No return: Van der Sar has ruled out the possibility of returning to United

No return: Van der Sar has ruled out the possibility of returning to United

But the 41-year-old insists he is happy with his decision, saying: ‘I got a few text messages from friends saying “what about you?” but I’m quite happy at the moment. There’s no doubt in my mind.

‘Paul was still there doing his work as an assistant coach with the reserve team so it was probably a little bit easier to get back in.’