Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed the Old Trafford club are close to concluding an agreement for a new keeper although they almost had to pull out after Edwin van der Sar had suggested he was having second thoughts on his retirement.
The Dutch keeper had said earlier in the season that this was to be his last fuelling speculation that Manchester United would be on the look out for a new top drawer keeper.
“Edwin decided he wants to go out at the top, though he did have a wobble last week, Edwin came to see me and told me he was thinking about changing his mind. I had to tell him to be quick about it because we are in the middle of concluding a deal for a new keeper.”
However after a few days thought van der Sar returned to Sir Alex claiming he would be sticking to his original decision.
“He came back a couple of days later to say he would be sticking with his original decision to go, which I think at his age,41 next birthday, is the right thing for him to do.”
Which goal keeper Manchester United are close to signing remains a mystery at the moment although numerous candidates have been mentioned over the course of the year. The likes of Maarten Stekelenburg, Manuel Neuer and David De Gea seem to be the front runners to be the long term successor for van der Sar this summer.