Thursday 30 July 2015 18:35, UK
David de Gea is a fantastic goalkeeper but Manchester United will move on if he decides to join Real Madrid, according to Old Trafford legend Peter Schmeichel.
Spain international goalkeeper De Gea, born and raised in Madrid, has been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu all summer, but as yet nothing has materialised.
Speaking ahead of the new Premier League season, United great Schmeichel - who played in the same position as De Gea for eight years at Old Trafford - admits that after a difficult start, the 24-year-old has turned into an impressive young goalkeeper.
"David De Gea has done fantastically well since he came to the club," he told Carlsberg. "He was heavily criticised for not being good enough in the first six months of his time at Old Trafford.
"But within that very same season, you know, he put himself in the frame as a fantastic goalkeeper. And by the end of that season no one thought he wasn’t good enough and he’s developed fantastically.
"But this is Manchester United, they’ve had big big players, best players in the world coming into the club, they’ve done a job, they’ve moved on. But the club has moved on as well, that’s what Manchester United does."
Louis van Gaal has brought in Argentina stopper Sergio Romero to plug any potential hole De Gea leaves, while despite much speculation Victor Valdes also remains a Manchester United player.
After an impressive first season under Van Gaal, in which the club finished fourth, there are now high expectations among United fans, who expect to compete for the Premier League title this season.
Schmeichel believes it is unlikely Chelsea will be able to maintain their dominance, and expects a number of teams to tighten the gap on the league champions.
He continued: "I’m not sure if Chelsea can be as dominant as they were in the last season. I think clubs like Arsenal, Man City, Manchester United, Liverpool, maybe even Tottenham, they will be desperately trying to close the gap and players have been signed to do that, so I kind of have a feeling that is going to be a more interesting and more exciting Premier League season.
"I think Manchester City is probably the big interest for this coming season. For all the money they have in the world, they haven’t seemed to get enough back from that."
Peter Schmeichel was speaking behind the scenes of Carlsberg’s new "If Carlsberg Did Kickabouts” TV ad. To watch the ad visit www.youtube.com/carlsberg #IfCarlsbergdid
