soccer

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea does not believe his new club should be fazed by the prospect of trying to win the Champions League.

Manchester United are getting ready to splash the cash again - this time on one of their main rival’s best players.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson appears to be convinced he can overcome Arsenal’s resolve towards keeping Samir Nasri - and will attempt to capitalise on the French midfielder’s contractual impasse with a speculative £20m offer.

As far as Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is concerned, Nasri is not for sale - and ostensibly his price is the same £40m that Arsenal would want for Cesc Fabregas - because the London club want him out of Ferguson’s reach.

But United, who are believed to have already held initial discussions through intermediaries of Nasri, have yet to test how Arsenal will respond to a £20m offer for a player who is out of contract next summer and thus worth probably half that sum.

United’s only option now is to make an offer.

Meanwhile, new United goalkeeper David de Gea has signed a five-year deal after arriving from Atletico Madrid.

The Spain Under 21 international, who is United’s third signing of the summer, has set his sights on filling the void left by Edwin van der Sar’s retirement.

“In my opinion Edwin was the best goalkeeper in the world when he was at United,” said de Gea.

“I hope to emulate him and spend a great number of years here.

“Hopefully I will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution he made to the club.”

Manchester United winger Luis Nani was a figure of commitment as he enthusiastically promoted the Singapore Olympic Foundation’s (SOF) Peter Lim Scholarship to students of Northlight School yesterday morning.

Yet, when asked about his future with the Red Devils moments later, the 24-year-old turned coy, giving short, clipped answers to questions from the media.

Does he feel threatened by Man United’s recent £16-million (S$32-million) signing of Ashley Young, who, like him, plays in a winger position?

“The club know what’s good for the team when they signed him,” he said.

Has he spoken to manager Alex Ferguson about his role for the next season? “No. Why should I?”

What about recent rumours that he is wanted by other big clubs, and that Man United are willing to let him go? “It’s always good to hear that other clubs appreciate how you have been playing.”

Despite his reticence about his future with the Barclays Premier League champions, Nani did let on that he could see himself playing for the club for a long time.

Dressed in jeans and a navy- blue T-shirt, the lanky Portuguese was relaxed and cheerful as he surprised a packed hall of Northlight students with his unannounced visit.

In a 20-minute session, he talked about how he pursued his footballing dream with conviction and dedication, despite struggles early in his life.

He was brought up by his aunt in Lisbon after being abandoned by his parents when he was young. Learning football from his elder brothers, he eventually earned a living through football and never looked back.

“Think positive. You can be like me and be a star for a lot of people. Never forget what you want, never give up,” he said to the students.

He also urged students with sporting potential to sign up for the Peter Lim Scholarship, which was set up last year when the former remisier donated $10 million to SOF, the largest donation in the history of Singapore sport.

About 400 scholarships, ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 annually, are available to children from primary to tertiary levels.

Applications for the scholarships close on Friday. Nani, who signed autographs and took part in a football-juggling exhibition, said Mr Lim - who owns a franchise of Man United- themed bars in Asia - had approached him over a lunch to come to Singapore to promote the scholarships.

“Nani is a good inspiration for young people and relates well with the kids,” said Singapore National Olympic Council vice-president Ng Ser Miang, who was also present at the event.

“He gave them simple but powerful messages, like never give up and pursue your passion. He’s a great, living example himself.”

David de Gea, Atletico Madrid’s highly rated goalkeeper, is set to replace Edwin van der Sar at Old Trafford. ITV.com Football Editor Ollie Irish profiles the young Spaniard and wonders if he has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.

Manchester United’s sobering lesson from Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final showed that the gap between Barca and the rest - even the best of the rest, as United were last season - is enormous. How to close this gap? The obvious short-term strategy is to spend big on quality players.

Sir Alex Ferguson has already splashed out on defender Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers and winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa, at a combined cost of… well, no one knows for sure as neither player’s fee has been disclosed; reports have suggested both men cost in the region of £15-20m.

Now Fergie is set to spend another £17-odd million - and break through the £50m barrier this summer - with the purchase of David de Gea from Atletico. At time of posting, De Gea was in Manchester undergoing a medical ahead of a move to Old Trafford.

De Gea is rated as one of the two best young goalkeepers in Europe. The other is Manuel Neuer, who had one brilliant game and one less-than-brilliant game against United for Schalke in their Champions League semi-final last season. At one time Neuer was at the very top of United’s shortlist for a replacement for the recently retired Edwin van der Sar, but the 25-year-old German chose to move to Bayern Munich instead of testing his reflexes with the English champions.

This might turn out to be a very good thing for United. At 20, De Gea is considerably younger than Neuer, but he is no less a shot-stopper - indeed, Europe hasn’t seen such an accomplished young keeper since Iker Casillas broke into Real Madrid’s first team as a teenager.

The real deal

Wiry and tall (6ft 4in), De Gea resembles a young Van der Sar, and no doubt Ferguson hopes his new stopper can play like him too, and for a very long time. They share attributes, certainly - both men are fine natural athletes, they’re both excellent with the ball at their feet, and they exude the supreme self-confidence that disarms opponents, particularly in one-on-one situations.

On recent evidence, De Gea is the real deal. He was very impressive for Spain’s Under-21s in their winning European Championship campaign, making key saves despite having little to do for long spells in games. If Fergie needed convincing at all of the young Spaniard’s qualities, events in Denmark did De Gea a big favour; he is no Massimo Taibi.

If the deal goes through, De Gea will surely become United’s first-choice keeper, ahead of Tomasz Kuszczak, Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos. That’s an awfully fresh roster of goalkeepers, and knowing that Ferguson rarely rushes the development of his younger players, it will be very interesting to see how he handles any sort of crisis in De Gea’s confidence; the Premier League is undoubtedly more physically testing than any other of Europe’s big leagues, and you can easily imagine opposition managers briefing their players to test De Gea’s nerve as much as possible, especially at set pieces.

One other question mark over De Gea is how well he will travel. Only last week he seemed happy to commit his short-term future to Atletico, as if reluctant to leave the club where he has spent all of his short career so far. Relatively few young Spanish players venture outside of their homeland, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique being a couple of notable exceptions, and you wonder if De Gea is fully prepared for life in the north-west of England - Van der Sar was much older and wiser when he arrived at Old Trafford.

Manchester United want Arsenal to keep hold of Cesc Fabregas – so they can forge ahead with a cut-price bid for Samir Nasri.

With Sir Alex Ferguson’s quest for Wesley Sneijder to become his midfield playmaker now looking unlikely, the Old Trafford boss is ready to turn to Arsene Wenger’s French midfielder Nasri.

Ferguson is back in England this week after holidaying in the South of France and is keen to sort out the central midfield berth vacated by the retired Paul Scholes before the bulk of the squad return to training next Monday.

The Reds are ready to move in and test the water at the Emirates with a £20m bid.

But Barcelona’s pursuit of Fabregas could be key to unlocking the door to Nasri.

United’s Champions League conquerors have already had a £27m bid for the Spaniard turned down flat by Arsenal and Barca’s president Sandro Rosell is insistent his club will not meet the Gunners’ £35m valuation of Fabregas.

If Barcelona push the boat out and nail down Fabregas then United’s bid for Nasri looks doomed, with Wenger unwilling to lose two key engine room figures in one summer.

The London club would improve their contract for Nasri if Fabregas goes.

However, if Fabregas stays at the Emirates Arsenal would be more willing to listen to offers for Nasri.

After a story broke last week about his future, Ji-Sung Park was questioned about it, which he quickly refuted those rumors and confirmed that he wants to stay at Manchester United.

The always respectful South Korean was on hand to kick off the club’s Asia Trophy Tour in Hong Kong, and he knows that he still serves a purpose - other than just selling shirts.

It should be music the United supporter’s ears that Park wants to stay, because he has scored countless important goals so far throughout his six-year career at Old Trafford.

With the recent arrival of Ashley Young, Park seems to be the odd-man out, because both players are very similar in the aspect that they can play out wide or through the center.

However, Park quickly let everyone know that he is committed to the United cause.

“It would be honor for me to keep playing for Manchester United. I have nothing to say about any transfer rumors - I just want to stay at Manchester United.”

Whenever there is a big game, Sir Alex Ferguson, who has tremendous faith in him, is rarely let down by his energetic, multifaceted midfielder - which confounds his critics sentiments.

Yes, some of those pundits heap praise on him for his boundless amounts of energy, but they fail to realize how cool he is under pressure. His last goal of the 2010/11 season showed how exactly how composed he is by clipping the ball up and over the goalkeeper under pressure from defenders.

To everyone’s amazement, Park runs at the same exact all-out pace he does in the first as he does in the 90th minute, which is really not an easy thing to do.

Ji-Sung Park is one of the hardest workers in football and, despite popular belief, it is always a privilege to see him play for Manchester United.

David de Gea is set to conclude his £17.8m move from Atletico Madrid to Manchester United as goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar’s replacement after a medical yesterday.

On the day that Sir Alex Ferguson returned from his summer break to supervise preparations for the new campaign, De Gea arrived in Manchester barely 48 hours after helping Spain win the European Under-21 title. He was ushered into Bridgewater Hospital under a bizarre cloak of secrecy, with blankets held up in an attempt to conceal his identity.

Ferguson’s next task may be persuading Luis Nani that he has a future at United following Ashley Young’s arrival as another direct competitor. Sources in Portugal continue to insist that Nani now hankers for a move, having become disgruntled at not being a first-choice player.

Nani still insisted during a charitable appearance in Singapore that he is unconcerned by Young’s arrival, however. “Of course I have to welcome everyone they sign, I think Man United is a fantastic club,” he said.

“When they bring in new players, they know if it is good for the team or not, and this [the Young signing] has to help them. It is good for the team – we want more players to help us to win trophies.”

Nani also said he was determined to keep Young on the substitutes’ bench, pointing to his experience in jostling for playing time with Cristiano Ronaldo before his move to Real Madrid. “I’ve been there [at United] when Cristiano was there,” Nani said. “Cristiano was one of the best players in the world.”

Javier Hernandez is unlikely to make United’s pre-season tour of the United States, despite his extraordinary following in the country last summer. He is to be granted an extended rest of at least a month following the conclusion of his role for Mexico against the US in the Gold Cup at the weekend, and may not come into contention for Ferguson until the Charity Shield match against Manchester City on 7 August. Hernandez was a key factor as Mexico overturned the Americans’ lead in Pasadena to win the Gold Cup final 4-2, at the end of 12 months of virtually constant football for him.

Celtic’s 25-year-old Honduras defender Emilio Izaguirre has insisted that Ferguson made direct contact with the Glasgow club’s board to agree a meeting next month to discuss his possible move to Old Trafford. Celtic manager Neil Lennon insists there has been no approach for Izaguirre.

Manchester United youngster Fabio Da Silva is desperate for a run of games this season having endured an injury hit start to his career at Old Trafford.

His twin brother Rafael, has made some headway in Sir Alex Ferguson’s first team plans and was recently promoted to the senior Brazil setup, however Fabio, once recognised as the more talented of the duo, has struggled with injury and also displacing the immovable Patrice Evra.

The 19-year-old acknowledges he will continue to struggle with gaining a permanent role in Manchester United’s first team but he believes he can offer plenty to Sir Alex Ferguson while he endeavours to dislodge Evra as Old Trafford’s first-choice left-back.

The youngster told Manchester United’s official television station: “I am very motivated to achieve a sequence of games for Manchester United.

“I had some injury problems last year, but I’m feeling really good and I’m sure the season will be great.

“I know I’m still young, but I want my share of games and I know I could be useful to the team during the championship.”

Portuguese influencer helped take youngster to Old Trafford…

Manchester United youngster Bebe wants to make a similar mark on Old Trafford history to that of his illustrious compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese joined the Red Devils from Vitoria Guimaraes in a deal worth £7 million last week.

Now he is seeking to make a glittering impression at Old Trafford after rising literally from the streets to sign for the English giants, having in the past played for a club in a league organised for homeless people.

“To come to a team like Manchester United is a dream come true for any player,” the 20-year-old told reporters.

“The Portuguese factor at Old Trafford was a motivation for me.

“You have very big names like Cristiano Ronaldo who has played here and is a very big player now. Nani and Anderson are still at the club.

“I want to become like then and I will work hard to become a top quality player.”

Brazilian has had no setbacks on comeback trail…

Manchester United midfielder Anderson is hoping that he can reignite his career at Old Trafford.

Out since February with a cruciate ligament injury sustained against West Ham United, there have also been rumours that the Brazilian was on his way out of the club.

However, he is delighted to be back training with the first team squad after completing his rehabilitation from the injury.

“I’m so happy and excited to be back again after six months without football,” he told his club’s official website.

“I’ve been really excited to be back. I’ve been so happy ever since I got back to Carrington and I just can’t wait to play again.

“I’m feeling good. I’ve been training for two weeks and I’m very happy. I think maybe very soon I’ll come back again and start playing normally with the rest of the team.

“I have had no problems at all with the injury. I’m just running and training now really hard, so I can come back and train normally with the team.”

And more winners’ medals are the aim for Anderson this season, after a strong pre-season in which the Red Devils have looked sharp.

“I think the new season will be very difficult because a lot of teams are becoming strong,” he added.

“But in pre-season we have looked very strong and I think we will come again this season and we will aim to win everything.”