Edwin van der Sar has moved to reassure Manchester United fans that life will go on should his predecessor David De Gea depart the club in the summer, Mirror Sport reports.
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The current United number one has been strongly linked with a return to La Liga and rumours of a switch to Real Madrid will not go away.
Los Blancos are reportedly lining up a £25 million move for the 24-year-old in the next few weeks and if the offer is accepted it will leave the Red Devils in desperate need of finding a suitable replacement [Independent].
However, van der Sar insists his former side will have no problems in replacing De Gea in the event he leaves:
“Nobody is irreplaceable, that’s always the case,” the Dutchman said.
“At the start of the season you start with 11 players. A new player may need a little bit of adjustment or will take some time to see how the Premier League works and the different type of football.”
“But I’m sure United, if David is going to leave, are going to find a good successor,” van der Sar added.
De Gea was nothing short of superb between the sticks last season as his performances deservedly won him the club’s Player of the Year award for the second successive year as well as being named in the PFA Team of the Year.
The Red Devils have been linked with a host of stoppers in recent weeks with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris seen as van Gaal’s first choice target to replace the Spaniard according to reports in Mail Sport last week.
While the France No. 1 has not made a formal request for a move away from White Hart Lane, he has indicated that he is assessing his options, and has reiterated a desire to test himself in the Champions League [Sky Sports].
Another candidate to replace De Gea is Stoke City stopper Asmir Begovic. The Bosnia and Herzegovina No. 1 could be considering a move away from the Potteries, at least if the comments of Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes are anything to go by.
“We would very much like him to extend his contract, but I think Asmir has said himself that he is keeping his options open and seeing what might be available for him,” he began, speaking to the Daily Mail.
“If I’m speaking frankly, I don’t know whether or who he might be speaking to. That’s not accusing him of anything, it’s just saying that’s the reality.”