Paddy Crerand believes that David de Gea can emulate former United no.1 Peter Schmeichel…
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea can easily surpass the success of the club’s former number one stopper Peter Schmeichel, according to Red Devils legend Paddy Crerand.
SEE MORE:
FM15: Wonderkids From FM09
Ultimate Football Manager 2015 Wonderkid XI
Best Football Manager 2015 Bargains
The 75-year-old former midfielder, who played for the Old Trafford club between 1963 and 1971, making over 300 league appearances, has lavished praise on the Spaniard, who has been one of his team’s stand-out performers so far this year.
Reports in the Daily Mail carry quotes from Crerand, who believes the 24-year-old will become as good as Peter Schmeichel, and no longer struggles with physical nature of Premier League.
Schmeichel won 15 major trophies between 1991 and 1999, but Crerand explained: “I remember when Schmeichel first came here, he struggled a little bit with crossed balls, but he got better as he got older and was an absolutely fantastic keeper for Manchester United. This kid [De Gea] could get there no problem.”
As the source explains, De Gea drew criticism after struggling to adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League during his early United career, but Crerand insists those days are behind him.
“He’s getting better and better. I remember when he first arrived – if you watch Spanish football, you never see balls being thrown into the box – so when he came here at first teams tried to make it as difficult as possible for him,” he said.
“He must have found it strange but he’s improved out of all recognition – he doesn’t have any problems with that type of ball into the box any more”.
Crerand also believes that the 24-year-old has time on his side to become one of the club’s all-time greats. The 1968 European Cup winner said: “David has been terrific for the last couple of seasons and is getting better and better. He is only 24 – that is so young for a keeper.
“You expect them to be at their best when they’re 34, so what’s he going to be like in the next five or six years? When do we ever have a goalkeeper as man of the match at Old Trafford? Never. It just shows you how well he’s done, he’s been fantastic,” he added.
SEE ALSO: Serena Williams season review in pictures, as tennis icon makes 2014 a year to remember
COMMENTS