One of the few established positions in the team.

Ferguson

Following the retirement (or so we thought since his latest appearances!) of Edwin van der Saar, United took a considered approach to finding a successor. We looked at Neuer (who of course signed for Bayern once the only opposition to his signing – a certain Mr Van Gaal – left the club) and De Gea.

At first, it looked like we had made a mistake in signing such a lightweight couple, who seemed to struggle with the physicality of the Premier League. Boy, did he prove his doubters wrong. By the end of Fergie’s reign, he had found his feet and established himself firmly as the No. 1. A tremendous keeper, with that wonderful free-kick stop against Mata defining his United career.

As back up, Fergie left Anders Lindegaard, Ben Amos and Sam Johnstone. Nothing spectacular, although Lindegaard looked solid enough in small doses. I think it’s fair to say no-one expected too much from the youngsters.

Moyes

It wasn’t a difficult decision for Moyes to stick with a keeper proving himself to be one of the best in Europe. In fact, one could be a little cheeky and give Moyes praise for allowing De Gea so much shot stopping experience! He did come to rely on him though, as he played all but three games last season.

Once again, Lindegaard, Amos and Johnstone remained the back up, but with three games between them (which were all for Lindegaard), it was difficult to feel we had someone solid to turn to if De Gea was injured.

LVG

Again, Louis van Gaal took to the talented Spaniard, proclaiming him ‘unbelievable’ following a particularly impressive performance against Liverpool. De Gea has remained a constant presence in van Gaal’s two seasons, and has been remarked as saving his manager from further embarrassment on many occasions.

It would have hurt us immensely to have lost De Gea to Real Madrid last summer. Whilst the decision was largely out of van Gaal’s hands, and more at the mercy of a fax machine, we would have lost our best player. Even getting Navas as a replacement was unpredictable, as it seems his heart wasn’t in the move.

One thing van Gaal did look at was the back up situation when Victor Valdes was brought in. At the time, this seemed an excellent move. Valdes had enough injury issues to ensure he wouldn’t be guaranteed a first place, and he brought a great amount of CL experience, along with being seen as a great influence in the dressing room. I do feel van Gaal’s continued treatment of Valdes was harsh, if understandable at the outset, but we are due to lose what could have been a key back up when his contract ends this summer.

Sergio Romero was brought in, with mixed results. De Gea’s Real Madrid saga afforded him early opportunities, and several key sheets were kept. It was obvious though that we hadn’t really been tested in these games. Following an unfortunate mistake against Swansea, he was dropped and not seen for some time. However, he did show against Midtjylland that he is capable of offering a safe pair of hands when needed.

In light of the two above acquisitions, Lindegaard was moved on as was Ben Amos. It’s never nice to see the youth players leave United, but there was little to suggest Amos would have made it. Similarly, Johnstone appears to be in the same boat.

The Future

So whether it’s LvG, Mourinho or Giggs, it’s clear that De Gea will remain the established goalkeeper, as he is simply proving himself more and more. The only question is how long will he stay with us – the lure of Real Madrid, particularly due to the personal circumstances it offers him, should prove too much. The rumours have died down at present, and I personally don’t believe he’ll be moving anywhere this summer. However, I think whoever is manager needs to consider that neither Romero nor Johnstone, nor Henderson or Joel Pereira are a ready-made replacement and will need to scout for a replacement.

I believe all three managers will retain de Gea (where possible) and Romero, but Johnstone may decide to get game time elsewhere. Henderson may well fill the third spot.

I'm hoping to do one of these for each position, mainly as a point of discussion. Let me know your thoughts