Every player has their life cycle, no matter how good a performer they may be or the state of their physical wellbeing. With Manchester United, securing the signing of someone to fill their goal has often been an arduous task.
For every Edwin van der Sar, there’s been a Massimo Taibi and Roy Carroll, all but suggesting Sir Alex Ferguson struggles to find a goalkeeper that would become a vital cog of his United machine. Following the arrival of David De Gea 18 months ago, many felt the veteran Scot had secured the long term successor to the Dutchman.
However, while the young Spaniard is an excellent shot-stopper, his lacking of the basic fundamentals of goalkeeper leaves a lot to be desired. With that in mind, a new number one is supposedly on his way to Old Trafford, that man being Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic.
Following the Potters’ capture of Jack Butland on transfer deadline day from Birmingham City, of which he’ll spend the remainder of the season on loan with, speculation is unsurprisingly going to be high in the Bosnia and Herzegovina international.
While Begovic has welcomed the arrival of Butland, there is no denying that both players deserve a place of the bench, with the duo worthy of starting for any top flight team. The latter in particular insisted he would only leave St Andrews in search of first team football, so was never going to have departed Birmingham without the pretence of doing so.
With De Gea linked with a move back to Spain, and in particular Barcelona as a replacement for Victor Valdes, a move for Begovic is a distinct possibility. The Stoke man is more solid in between the posts that his Spanish counterpart and would only prove to be an astute acquisition for United in the long term, especially if the Manchester side can recoup a vast majority of the £17m they paid Atletico Madrid for him in 2011.