Manchester United fans in the Football Transfer Tavern didn’t enjoy their weekend as much as they should have done having watched their side struggle to a dour 0-0 draw away to Cambridge United on Friday night.
The results that followed for Chelsea and Manchester City proved just how fortunate they were to still be in the hat for the next round, whilst Louis van Gaal’s claim that ‘everything was against’ his team of world class stars made him sound a little foolish.
The FA Cup represents perhaps United’s only chance of silverware this season with a Premier League title challenge surely out of reach.
A top four finish and an FA Cup triumph would represent a decent first season in charge for van Gaal and may also go some way to ensuring David De Gea remains at Old Trafford.
Once again the Spaniard has been the standout player for United this term and stories continue to link him with a return to his homeland with Real Madrid.
United fans are realistic enough to know they face a challenge on their hands to keep him whilst van Gaal would be naive to not have already started considering potential replacements.
Here we have identified five candidates should he complete his move to Spain this summer.
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Click on David De Gea to reveal the 5 ideal replacements at Manchester United this summer.
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Victor Valdes
The general feeling amongst United supporters – and perhaps Louis van Gaal more importantly – is that they have a ready-made replacement for De Gea already at the club.
Former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes snubbed interest from Liverpool and Monaco to make the move to Old Trafford this month on a free transfer.
You get the feeling the Spaniard won’t be happy to sit on the bench for the rest of his career so he may well have been told he will have the number one jersey next season. He is yet to make his United debut and has not featured since suffering that horror injury whilst still at Barcelona.
Asmir Begovic
The Bosnian international goalkeeper has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best during his time at Stoke City.
He has been consistently linked with a move to a top four club over the past couple of years and his contractual situation at the Britannia Stadium means it is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Mark Hughes is resigned to offers coming in for him this summer and has placed a price tag of £10 million on Begovic’s head – a sum that will be no problem for the world’s second richest club as was announced last week.
Iker Casillas
Once considered the best goalkeeper in world football, all the reports suggest Iker Casillas’ Real Madrid career is reaching it’s conclusion.
The Spain captain would surely be relegated to the bench should David De Gea sign in the summer whilst Keylor Navas was only signed in the summer.
A new challenge may be exactly what Casillas needs to rediscover the form that saw him labelled the best goalkeeper in the world. We shouldn’t rule out the prospect of a player plus cash deal between United and Real Madrid this summer when it comes down to their goalkeepers.
Guillermo Ochoa
The 28-year-old Malaga goalkeeper has been linked with a move to the Premier League frequently over the past year with United and major rivals Liverpool both having been linked at different times.
Ochoa has enjoyed a superb couple of seasons in Ligue 1 with Ajaccio and was particularly impressive for Mexico during the summer’s World Cup – picking up a man of the match award in a goalless draw with Brazil in an early group game.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
The German only completed a £10 million move to Barcelona in the summer but has barely featured for the Catalan giants so far.
Luis Enrique sees Claudio Bravo as his number one, meaning the 22-year-old could be seeking a move sooner rather than later if the situation does not change.
ter Stegen was considered one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe during his spell at Borussia Monchengladbach and would relish the chance to show what he can do on a weekly basis at Manchester United if the right offer came in.
