Manchester United fans will have been very disappointed to hear the news that emerge this morning from manager Louis Van Gaal that David De Gea will not play against Tottenham on the opening day of the season because he's too distracted.
The initial disappointment at the news that they will surely be losing their prized goalkeeper to Real Madrid was soon overtaken by feelings of panic at the thought of someone other than De Gea being in goal against Spurs, with Sergio Romero and Sam Johnstone being the only two viable candidates for the position after Victor Valdes and Anders Lindegaard were told they can find new clubs.
But it seems as though LVG isn't going to be thrusting Romero into the proverbial deep-end of Premier League action long term as he today told MUTV that he plans to purchase another goalkeeper, and he's not finished there either. When asked if he still feels the need to bring in more bodies, his reply was:
Yes, because I have said that we need players with speed and creativity – Di Maria is a player like that and now he is gone, so we need that type of player.
Of course we have problems still with the goalkeeper, so we need maybe two more players.
The Di Maria replacement is widely believed to be Barcelona winger Pedro, who Guilleme Balague today suggested had agreed personal terms with the club, but Manchester United are also trying to sign a goalkeeper, and there hasn't been too many names suggested in recent weeks as it looked as though De Gea would play one more season at Old Trafford.
Hugo Lloris is one name that has been consistently linked to Old Trafford, and Bayern Leverkusen's Bernd Leno has been earmarked as a potential candidate, but it remains to be seen if Van Gaal and Ed Woodward will be able to bring in the keeper they want before the window closes.
via ManUtd.com
