De Gea seals United move

Manchester United have signed Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid for a reported sum of 17.8 million pounds.

That sum makes de Gea, 20, the second-most expensive goalkeeper of all time after Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, who completed a deal worth 52.3 million euros from Parma to Juventus in 2001.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to wait until after the European Under-21 Championships in Denmark to seal the deal, with the youngster helping Spain win the tournament.

The Scot had been looking for a replacement for Dutchman Edwin van der Sar for some time, after the 40-year-old confirmed in January he would be retiring at the end of the 2010/11 season.

De Gea said he was looking forward to establishing himself as the new number one at Old Trafford.

“I feel very proud and I can’t wait to start playing here,” he told MUTV.

“When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you it obviously makes you very, very happy.”

“I saw their interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability.”

“It’s a great privilege to be part of a club like United and I’m keen to do my best and show what I can do.”

United’s off-season shopping bill is now over 50 million pounds, with de Gea joining new recruits Phil Jones and Ashley Young at the English Premier League champions.