Manchester United Transfer News: Edwin van der Sar Opens on David De Gea Rumours

Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has opened up on his disbelief at the current goalkeeping situation at Old Trafford following a prolonged transfer saga around the future of David De Gea.

Now serving as a director at Ajax, Van der Sar says he finds it "astonishing" De Gea is sidelined, telling the Mirror he wishes to see Red Devils target Jasper Cillessen remain with his side, via Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News:

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It is obvious that there is a lot more going on in the background. There is stuff happening between Louis and De Gea. 

As a former United employee and goalkeeper of the club, I find it astonishing that I see three established goalkeepers - De Gea, Anders Lindegaard and Victor Valdes - in the stand watching United play.

Also, Sergio Romero is a free agent who has hardly played a league game over the past two years, yet is in the starting line-up. 

Cillessen’s name is being mentioned as a replacement for De Gea but, as as a director at Ajax, I am working hard to keep our best player.

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Speculation linking De Gea with a move to Real Madrid has been rife all summer, and Simon Mullock of the Mirror cites a source as saying the Spaniard "just doesn't get on with" his manager.

Romero has started all three of United's Premier League games this season, keeping a clean sheet in each. Van Gaal told BT Sport "you never know" when quizzed on De Gea's odds of moving after a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle United on Saturday:

In July, Sky Sports described Cillessen as "the bookies' favourite" to replace De Gea if he did leave the club, but United's guarded stance over their current No. 1 would suggest an exit is unlikely.

Rob Draper of the Mail on Sunday stated earlier this summer that United have already told Ajax to expect a bid for Cillessen, but manager Frank de Boer insisted his player will be more expensive later in the window:

Van der Sar sits as one of the best stoppers in United's history, once setting a Premier League clean sheet record of 11 games without conceding a goal—1,311 minutes in total—which still stands to this day.

As such, the 44-year-old may be considered something of an authority when it comes to who his former club should be targeting, and his desire to see Cillessen remain at Ajax speaks highly of the Netherlands No. 1.

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

As things stand, Manchester United are one of just three clubs yet to concede a goal this Premier League season, along with Manchester City and Liverpool.

De Gea appears unlikely to feature for Manchester United until after September 1, when the transfer window closes, but Romero has said he wishes for the Spain international to stay, per Paul Hirst of the Irish Independent:

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It is a difficult situation for him but when one is a great professional like he is and when one has a good head like his you keep training to get better day by day because you never know, he could play this weekend.

"

"

He is a great team-mate, a great professional, a great person. It happened to me last year in Sampdoria. I was not playing but I was working as if I was going to play.

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Romero is doing an adequate job as deputy for now, but with less than a year left on his Old Trafford contract, De Gea's uncertain status is an overbearing concern for the English giants to consider.

Van der Sar experienced massive highs during his time as a United player, with the controversy currently engulfing the club's goalkeeping situation far from the idyllic days enjoyed during his tenure as the Red Devils' No. 1.