Will he be Manchester United’s next No. 1?
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In a club still desperately searching for a home-town hero after the departure of star striker Fernando Torres, David de Gea may be the answer to Atletico Madrid’s heartache.
The only difference is, he plays on the opposite side of the field, in goal.
Both players share a similarly quick rise through the youth ranks at the “other” team in Madrid. And blessed with youthful good looks, it’s no wonder the Madrid-born and -bred de Gea is being compared to Torres, now with Liverpool.
And like Torres, it seems the sandy-haired 20-year old is destined for bigger things. Earlier this month, his club was forced to deny reports the highly rated youngster was on the brink of a S$30 million move to The Red Devils to replace the ageing Edwin van der Sar.
But in an exclusive phone interview with Yahoo! SEA earlier this month, de Gea – who recently turned 20 and turned down a move to Wigan – said he’s keeping his feet firmly on the ground, despite being constantly linked to the Red Devils.
“My goal is to do well for Atletico now and return the affection to the fans and to the club for putting all their faith in me. As for (the) future, I can’t say yet but anything is possible,” said the 1.92-metre-tall shot-stopper.
And while refusing to rule out the possibility of joining Manchester United, the humble Spain-under 21 international says he’s still got a lot to learn.
“To repeat what Fernando (Torres) did here as an Atletico player is difficult because he was an idol and everybody in the club highly respects him. It’s a great honour to be compared to him, but in all honesty, I still think I have a long way to go,” said Atletico’s first-choice goalkeeper.
De Gea shot to fame on the back of a series of stellar performances last season, culminating in a UEFA Cup triumph over Fulham in the final. This season, he picked up from where he left off with a scintillating display in the season-opening Uefa Super Cup, where Atletico upset Champions League winners Inter Milan 2-0.
De Gea played a crucial role in the win, keeping out Diego Milito’s penalty kick late in the game (watch).
Despite crashing to a 2-0 defeat to city arch-rivals Real Madrid earlier this month, Atletico are doing well this season. The star-studded team currently lies in sixth place after responding to the derby defeat with impressive 3-0 and 4-2 wins against Osasuna and Real Sociedad respectively.
The team boasts a wealth of attacking talent with Uruguayan World Cup joint-top scorer Diego Forlan and Argentine hot-shot Sergio Aguero leading the line, ably supported by wide men Jose Antonio Reyes (ex-Arsenal) and Portuguese star Simao.
But that may not last long with persistent transfer rumours that Forlan could be on his way out of the club.
De Gea, however, insists everything was going well.
“Diego is doing great and he is training as usual. It’s great to have him in the locker room because he is one of our elite players and someone I highly respect.”
De Gea also insists that despite the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid and the Messi-inspired Barcelona, La Liga is not a two-horse race.
“When Spain won World Cup, everybody realised that the best players are playing in our country. But Spain has many good players – not just the ones who went to South Africa,” said de Gea, a product of Atletico Madrid’s youth system.
“Fans outside the country, for example there (in Asia) need to know that Spanish football is changing and it can only grow bigger and better, I’m sure.”
“Clearly there are two teams (which are) one step ahead of others, but there are also clubs below who are standing strong,” he said.
”Atletico have to be with the big clubs, winning titles and competing in the Champions League, which we are slowly achieving. But we need to set a strong base and new players are always good,” he added.
LA FURIA FUTURE
As for his own future, de Gea, who is a UEFA U-17 European Championship winner with Spain, hopes to break into the senior team soon.
Although he was named in Vicente del Bosque’s provisional World Cup squad in May earlier this year, he did not make the final cut and missed out on Spain’s World Cup trimph.
Refusing to be downcast or heart-broken, he preferred to see the bright side of things.
“It was a joy to be chosen to be among those 30 players, but I know I must continue to work and grow to play in the senior team someday. It is very rewarding to be on a list in which there are great goalkeepers like Casillas, Reina, Víctor Valdés and Diego Lopez,” he said.
On a personal note, de Gea is pleased with the support he has been receiving from his club, Atletico Madrid and the city itself.
Having recently picked up one of the “‘7 Stars Sports Award” given out annually by the community if Madrid to outstanding athletes, De Gea was also quick to credit his team-mates for his success.
“The people of the club have been very kind to me. I think the confidence they have given me has made me grow as an individual. I thank all the fans and my team-mates for the accolades, but as I’ve said before, there’s still much to learn,” he said.
Humble he may be, but you be sure this goalkeeper’s stock and star can only be on the way up.
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It's already more or less confirmed from Fergie that they will complete the signing of Anders Lindegaard in about 3 weeks time... So I don't think this guy would even come close...
Anyway, I think they should give Vds another year as he is still very much a top keeper. His form has not gone south yet, so I feel he can still do the job for another year...
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it will be 2 keepers coming into man u at the end of the season.VDS and kuschak leaving. Lindergaard and de Gea coming in,