5 Areas Manchester United Goalkeeper David De Gea Must Improve

Another shaky performance from new Manchester United signing David De Gea against Tottenham will have done nothing to discourage his knockers—nor to improve the under-fire goalkeeper's confidence.

At £17 million, much was expected of the 20-year-old who came from Atletico Madrid this summer yet in the three games he has played so far he has failed to convince.

Following howlers against Manchester City in the Community Shield and on the opening day of the Premier League season at West Brom, at least he kept his first clean sheet against on his Old Trafford debut.

That is certainly something to build on and despite questions remaining about his overall performance, there will be plenty more to come as long as he addresses the following five key points.

1. Confidence

Goalkeepers, more than any other position on a football pitch, need iron-clad confidence in their own ability if they are to succeed at the highest level.

Quite simply, since taking his bow at Wembley, De Gea has not showed much. His weak dive over Edin Dzeko's shot for Manchester City's first goal seems to have shortened him of whatever confidence the transfer most other players can only dream of had given him.

Now, another dive over Shane Long's shot later, he seems riddled with self-doubt. Rediscovering his confidence must be his top priority.

2. The English Game

Not so much during the Spurs game but certainly against West Brom, De Gea was shown up for his apparent physical inferiority.

Tall, skinny and lanky, De Gea has quickly found out that the Premier League is a tough place to come, especially from the more rarefied air of the Spanish top flight.

West Brom realised this weakness early on and targeted it to good effect, throwing balls and bodies at him with the aim of damaging his confidence and putting him off his game. They were largely successful.

This will not have gone unnoticed and De Gea can be sure that he will again be targeted at places like the Reebok Stadium and the Britannia Stadium. He needs to beef himself up and get tough.

3. Presence in the Box

What was clear from the Spurs game was that De Gea lacks a presence on his penalty area. This can have the damaging—potentially catastrophic—effect of stripping defenders' confidence in their goalkeeper.

That might not yet have happened but it will soon enough if De Gea fails to impose himself in and around his box.

Peter Schmeichel-like rants at defenders may not be necessarily the way forward for all, but he needs to take control at the very least.

4. Price Tag

Unfortunately, this is something he can do nothing about, as the deal to take him to Manchester has long been done and dusted.

But what he can do is forget about how much money was paid for him. At the moment he seems to be wearing his price tag like a millstone around his neck. It's weighing him down.

Perhaps he should console himself that he is not United's most expensive signing. Not by a long shot.

5. Experience

This is a difficult one, as he will only get the experience he needs by playing and therefore leaving him exposed to yet more questions but Alex Ferguson has spent a great deal of money on his man and will not be willing to give up on him just yet.

This is likely to prove his savour. He will play, no matter what at the moment. And the more he plays, the more experience of the English game he will gather.