An embarrassment of riches: How Man Utd ended up with four keepers

Manchester United’s goalkeeping situation has been an unwanted distraction since March. The club now have four stoppers, with noses put out of joint among all of them. Not to mention Real Madrid’s Keylor Navas, who rang United on the English transfer deadline day to try and resurrect a deal to take him to Old Trafford.

The youngest is Sam Johnstone, 22. He played 100 more minutes on the pre-season tour of America than any other keeper and performed well. He excelled on loan for Preston North End last season as they won promotion to the Championship and it was widely thought that he’d remain at his hometown club for this season.

It would have marked a natural step up, one he was ready for. Preston were among several Championship clubs who came in for him, but despite telling his boss that he wanted to play first-team football this season, Johnstone wasn’t allowed to depart.

Johnstone has played for England at Under-16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 level. He was overlooked to be United’s first-choice keeper in favour of new signing Sergio Romero. The season has now started and Johnstone’s career, for now, is in limbo. If he gets a chance he will take it. At least he can use the time to learn Spanish from the three other goalkeepers.

Victor Valdes, meanwhile, is a world-class goalkeeper. That is now overlooked because he’s been injured, because he’s fallen out with Louis van Gaal and because he was going to sign for Besiktas. He’s been professional since joining United, training very hard (and that continues to this day) and rapidly improving his English. He’s popular among players, especially United’s Spanish contingent. He speaks his mind, probably to his own detriment. He’s always done this. Didn’t a young Van Gaal do the same?

Valdes had regular blazing rows with Van Gaal while at Barca but it didn’t stop them working together. If Valdes, a hugely experienced keeper, isn’t happy about the training and his goalkeeping coach, then should he remain quiet? Several of the other players actually respect him for standing up to his manager.

Van Gaal claims that Valdes doesn’t follow his philosophy. If he didn’t, then why did he sign him? Van Gaal claimed he refused to play in an under 21s game (Valdes had been happy to play in under 21 games) and that’s the reason why he wasn’t given a squad number for this season. He was also left out of the Champions League squad.

Valdes won’t be pushed around. He has a contract and he knows his rights. He was going to join Besiktas and was at Manchester Airport when the move collapsed; he considered that they’d changed the terms offered. He’s not the first United player to have claimed this. Kleberson terminated a contract with the Istanbul club in 2007 because he felt they failed to pay his wages on time.

Besiktas disputed this with FIFA and the even though he moved to Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club, in September 2007, Kleberson was unable to play for them until February 2008 until the dispute was resolved.

Valdes won't be following Van Persie and Nani to Turkey’s biggest city. He’s done nothing but sing the praises of United as a club in public and in private, but not those of Van Gaal. Valdes’ United contract runs out in June 2016, the same month as De Gea’s.

Sergio Romero’s time at United has been turbulent from the second he was booked on a flight from Buenos Aires to America with his two Argentina team-mates Angel di Maria and Marcos Rojo to join up with United’s pre-season tour.

Di Maria, who is hugely popular in Argentina, wasn’t on the plane and Rojo’s passport was delayed following approval for a work permit. Rojo is another player who felt Van Gaal’s wrath in pre-season for his physical condition. Maybe there’s merit in the Dutchman’s hard line stance, but he needs his players to believe in him. Unless he sells them all.

Romero has been the first-choice goalkeeper while De Gea’s United future was in doubt. Though rarely tested, he kept four clean sheets in his first five games and only conceded a deflected own goal against Bruges, though his organisation was questioned. It was questioned even more after conceding the second goal against Swansea. Romero doesn’t inspire the same confidence among fans and players as De Gea, but then who would?

David De Gea may be in shock after his move to Madrid didn’t go through but in an ideal world, he’ll come back to Manchester, get his head down and be the first choice for the rest of this season. In a dream world, he’ll blame Real Madrid for the transfer falling through, sign a new United contract, play as he’s been playing, become the best goalkeeper in the world, bring his partner to Manchester, who’ll then announce that she wants their kids to grow up with Mancunian accents.

He’ll then play a part in United winning the European Cup, beating Real Madrid in the final, after which De Gea takes his top off (once he’s scored the winning penalty in a shoot-out), to reveal and half and half Manchester United-Atletico Madrid shirt.

Until the last month, De Gea enjoyed a good relationship with Van Gaal, who was understandably frustrated by him not signing a new contract and then wrongly accused him of not being mentally prepared to play. That relationship needs repairing, as does De Gea’s working relationship with goalkeeping coach Frans Hoeke.

Reports of United fans abusing De Gea – “dog’s abuse”, according to one British tabloid on Wednesday - are nonsense. Aside from one or two idiots in crowds of 76,000, he’s received overwhelming support, in spite of saying nothing to assure United fans about his future. The club was worried that De Gea would be abused in his final game of the season at Old Trafford against Arsenal. Instead, he was applauded.

United didn’t want to sell De Gea but it’s hard to keep hold of a player who wants to leave. If he was to go, it would have been for a world record fee for a goalkeeper, surpassing the £32.6 million Juventus paid for Gianluigi Buffon 14 years ago – until Madrid baulked on Monday and United lowered their demands.

Both Madrid and United blame each other as to why the deal didn’t go through. Neither side was covered in glory, but both must now focus on the season ahead. United’s goalkeepers must do the same, but it’s difficult when there are four of them and only one net to fill – not a situation any of them wanted.