Addressing the goalkeeping situation post Edwin Van der Saar.

After months of rumours in the English and Norwegian press alike in addition to constant sightings of Eric Steele and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at matches in which Anders Lindegaard was taking part in, the 6ft 4in, 26 year old Dane looks set to seal a move from Aleslund to Manchester United.

The transfer appears to be all but a formality now as Anders flew in to Manchester yesterday for a medical as well as the negotiation of personal terms. This of course following on from the heavy reporting of an agreement between the two clubs with the fee believed to be around ₤3.5m.

But who is Anders Lindegaard? Why has this shot stopper attracted the interest of so many big European club scouts such as Bayern Munich and Arsenal and is he good enough to eventually succeed Van der Saar without a huge drop in performance levels?

Anders Lindegaard, born 13 April 1984, is a full Danish international with 4 caps having recently won his first cap in a Euro 2012 qualifier Vs Iceland back in September keeping a clean sheet in the process. He started his club career in Odense Boldklub back in Denmark but did not play much ironically due to the arrival of former United keeper Roy Carroll. He was subsequently loaned out to Aaleslund in Norway, where he has been by all accounts the best keeper in the league since.

Lindegaard is described by Tor-Kristian Karlsen as an “old-school” keeper, very commanding, brave, good physique and slightly mental. Not the greatest “footballer” but clearly one who United feel will fit into English football.

Sections of the media and United fans have expressed concern Lindegaard is not good enough despite not having one appearance to his name. The “comments” from United legend Peter Schmeichel influencing a lot of people’s opinions, the fans interpreting the small transfer fee and obscure profile of the Dane as another consequence of the Glazer regime, i.e. a tightening of the purse strings.

Firstly I believe before we can proceed any further, this myth that Schmeichel suggested his fellow countryman is not good enough must be dispelled, for Schmeichel never once questioned Lindegaard’s ability but rather took issue with his lack of experience, pointing out that he was perhaps not ready for such a career move and that Lindegaard might see little playing time to fulfil his potential. He has made no secret that he feels a more experienced option to take over Van der Saar is the best approach for United. And frankly after the period between Schmeichel and Van der Saar with the chopping and changing of keepers, European exits and cock-up’s, I feel he has a very good point. One only has to look down south at the Emirates to see the effects of not having a dependable and consistent keeper. Lindegaard is not a particularly young player, but in goalkeeping terms he is of course nowhere near his prime yet, however he has not played any football in a top league and therefore it is understandable why some may view it as a risk. Nevertheless after the recent captures of Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling both looking good in their early careers at Old Trafford and both relatively unknown players before they moved, it is perhaps fair we should feel more optimistic and trust Sir Alex and his scouts once again.

Furthermore there is no guarantee a big money keeper would definitely succeed, because if things worked that way Berbatov would be our best player right now and Barthez signed for big money would be a United legend. To play for United in goal is not simply about having talent either; Tim Howard had plenty of that. No. At United, the greatest quality which ensures a long term stay at the club is the mental strength of the player. This was Tim Howard’s downfall and more recently Ben Foster’s as well. The fact remains that even with a substandard defence it is probably far easier to look a great keeper in a mid table/relegation threatened team as opposed to one challenging for honours. In the former, you are likely to called into action far more and therefore are usually always switched on. In the latter, you may have nothing to do for 89 mins. but are required to have the necessary concentration to pull off the game winning save in the last minute.

An expectant and highly critical fan base, United fans are rarely very patient, this is highlighted when it comes to the assessment of young players who display potential. Standards are extremely high at the club and United are expected to win in almost every game in a season. This is the encouraging part with regards to Lindegaard; quite a few sources have spoken of his mental strength. He is said to have a touch of madness that all the great keepers in the past have had. He has huge ambitions to become the best keeper in the world and you know he’ll give it a real go and put a lot of effort in to try make it happen.

On top of mental strength, I feel it is imperative United buy someone who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and whose distribution is of a high quality with his feet and hands. This is essential for a team like United who love to break at pace and launch counter attacks. To say the truth, in this field I have no idea what to expect from Lindegaard, but I hope he is at least decent because Kuszczak’s kicking is a nightmare at times.

Lastly he must be able to cope with the physical and aerial aspect of the league where keepers are rarely protected, but Lindegaard is not worried. United require a keeper who will not flap at crosses, one of my major concerns when it was reported we were interested in Igor Akinfeev this time around last year. Coming from the Norway he will have had a lot of experience in dealing with such things and therefore is probably more equipped than the Russian in my opinion.

There are some who are still adamant the signing of Lindegaard is to fill our void as 2nd choice keeper with Kuszczak departing after constantly speaking of his displeasure at little playing time and United buying a first choice keeper. Indeed the rumours of Buffon, Neuer, Akinfeev, Stekelenburg and particularly David De Gea of Atletico Madrid persist. In De Gea’s case the Times claim United are on the brink of agreeing a deal and Ballague insists the deal is actually all but done for De Gea to come to United next summer. How true this is only time will tell, but De Gea is an outstanding young keeper, one of the best in Europe and seen as the heir to Casillas. He led Atletico to a European trophy last season after ousting another talented Spanish keeper Sergio Asenjo who Atletico had also bought.

It would perhaps be fitting if De Gea went on to replace Van der Saar his hero. The Atletico keeper’s nickname is Van der Gea and he even looks a bit like Van der Saar!!

The catch is of course he would cost around ₤15-20m which can be triggered by activating a clause in his contract. An incredible amount of money for such a young keeper, a position where clubs tend to favour older players. It could even rise if De Gea signs the new contract (tripling his salary) that Atletico have apparently offered. But a big money transfer happened with Buffon at a young age and if De Gea is good enough and United have the money there is no reason why it can’t happen here.

Whether Lindegaard is good enough to replace Van der Saar or whether it will be someone else is difficult to say at this point, simply we don’t know what the club’s long term plans are with this position. For instance as Van der Saar has done over the past three seasons or so is to extend his contract a further year around December. This time however, I’m getting the same feeling I did in Schmeichel’s last season, I truly believe this is Van der Saar’s last season in professional football, you can see the mistakes are starting to slip into his game as we saw with the error Vs West Brom at Old Trafford this season. My personal opinion is we will buy another keeper on top of Lindegaard. But that is not certain, what is almost certain though is Lindegaard is soon to be a United player and therefore he has my full support.

Scholesy18