---
title: "United need not buy a new goalkeeper this summer"
canonical: "https://readmanutd.com/2015/08/12/why-united-may-not-have-to-sign-a-new-keeper-this-summer/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
section: "Features"
published: "2015-08-12T17:46:12Z"
modified: "2015-08-12T17:47:57Z"
---

# United need not buy a new goalkeeper this summer

With the departure of David de Gea to Real Madrid still a possibility this summer and Louis van Gaal’s public falling out with Victor Valdes, many Manchester United fans are adamant that a world class keeper should be brought in as soon as possible. However, the Red Devils might already have their solution, in the form of new signing Sergio Romero.

Now many will argue that Romero doesn’t have as glistening a club career as de Gea or Valdes, but his international record is outstanding when compared with theirs; the Spanish duo have only made a combined 25 appearances for Spain whereas Romero has made 62 and counting.

During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Romero was Argentina’s main man between the sticks, and after conceding three goals in the opening two games against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Nigeria, he kept four clean sheets against Iran, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands to help his country reach the final of the competition.

In the final itself, Romero was only seven minutes away from another clean sheet against eventual winners Germany, before Mario Gotze finally found a way past him in extra time with an awe-inspiring effort.

All in all, Romero only conceded 4 standard time goals throughout the whole tournament, the same amount as Germany’s Manuel Neuer. Fast-forward a year to the 2015 Copa America in Chile and Romero is still Argentina’s number one.

In games against Uruguay, Jamaica, Paraguay (twice) and Colombia, Romero kept 3 clean sheets and only conceded 3 goals, all of them coming in the games against neighbours Paraguay.

Once again, Sergio kept a clean sheet in normal time in a final as Argentina faced Chile, but he missed out on yet another winner’s medal as the hard-working Chilean team triumphed on penalties.

Despite this, Romero conceded the least amount of standard time goals (3) and was tied with Barcelona’s Chile international Claudio Bravo for most clean sheets (4) in the competition.

As well as these international performances showing why Romero could be the answer to United’s problems, the goalkeeper has already played under Louis van Gaal at AZ (Alkmaar Zaanstreek) in the Eredivisie and even won the 2008/09 league whilst conceding the least amount of goals that season, so he will already be well aware of his new manager’s expectations and “philosophy”, which could serve him well.

Now this doesn’t mean Romero is perfect – far from it actually. His debut game against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend showed that although his reflexes are sharp, his distribution needs work, if it’s to match that of David de Gea, who has an excellent eye for a pass. However, let’s not forget how de Gea himself struggled when he first moved to the Premier league; he needed time to adjust and work on his key flaws, just as Romero must do now.

As for a backup keeper, there could be a promising future in the form of Sam Johnstone. The 22-year-old Englishman has had successful loan spells at Doncaster and Preston North End, and even played an impressive 30 minutes against Barcelona in a pre-season friendly as well as putting in another solid display in a full 90 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain.

Losing de Gea’s all-around skill and Valdes’ experience will be a blow United, but at 28, Romero still has arguably all of his best years in him and if he can replicate his international form under the bright lights of Old Trafford, and Johnstone keeps improving with time, United’s last line of defence may be safer than most seem to think.