Sir Alex is looking for an able replacement for when Edwin calls it a day.

UEFA Cup group stage match CSKA Moscow 3- 0 Deportivo

Manchester United are eyeing up Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev as they prepare for life after Edwin van der Sar. Sir Alex Ferguson is not convinced by Ben Foster, and has set his sights on the 23-year-old CSKA Moscow man. (Eurosport)

It appears that Sir Alex is not that keen on Ben Foster as a ready made replacement for when Edwin Van der Sar hangs up his gloves and this summer Man United have been linked with many top level keepers who they deem worthy of the number one spot.

Igor Akinfeev is a hugely experienced keeper who seems like a pretty safe keeper and one who may well jump of a chance to move to the Premier League champions. Foster still has youth on his side because at 26 he is still relatively young in goalkeeping terms.

The former Stoke City man doesn’t appear to command a great deal of confidence from his back four and is capable of many elementary mistakes that could end up costing the club valuable points. His kicking needs massive improvements as does his cross collecting.

Edwin has done well at the club and will be sorely missed when he does retire and was probably the first keeper to ably fill the role since Peter Schmeichel, even though Fabian Barthez did okay during his spell he was capable of some terrible errors of judgement. Ferguson knows how key the keeper role is and will be thinking long and hard about who he may approach. One name that seems like a step in the right direction could well be Celtic’s Artur Boruc.


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