Edwin van der Sar says goalkeeper who previously wanted Man Utd move is better than Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea

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Manchester United have a problem with the goalkeeper spot, which is entirely baffling considering how much they forked out for Andre Onana.

Erik ten Hag was the man who shunned United club legend David de Gea in order to bring Onana to Old Trafford. Since then, the Cameroonian has had a turbulent time, to say the least.

As of late, Onana has been poor, which has led to fan speculation as to whether Andre is still part of the problem around Carrington.

But this was never always the case. Red Devils goalkeepers of old were always among the best in the Premier League, and that includes the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Peter Schmeichel, and De Gea.

However, Edwin believes that a player who once wanted to join United – and is still active – surpasses the two previously mentioned.

• READ – Manchester United’s best ever goalkeepers

Edwin van der Sar rates Thibaut Courtois over Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea

In an interview with GOAL, the towering Dutchman was asked to choose the best goalkeeper of all time, by pitting keepers of present and past against each other.

Most interestingly, it showed that Van der Sar has a soft spot for current Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, who surpassed both De Gea and Schmeichel on his list.

The former United shot-stoppers picks can be seen below, with the names mentioned in bold consisting of Edwin’s winners:

• Emiliano Martinez or Alisson?
• Alisson or Jan Oblak?
• Alisson or David de Gea?
• Alisson or Peter Schmeichel?
• Peter Schmeichel or Thibaut Courtois?
• Thibaut Courtois or Dida?
• Thibaut Courtois or Ederson?
• Thibaut Courtois or Manuel Neuer?
• Manuel Neuer or Oliver Kahn?
• Oliver Kahn or Mike Maignan?
• Oliver Kahn or Gianluigi Buffon?
• Gianluigi Buffon or Gianluigi Donnarumma?
• Gianluigi Buffon or Petr Cech?
• Gianluigi Buffon or Victor Valdes?
• Gianluigi Buffon or Iker Casillas?
• Gianluigi Buffon or Edwin van der Sar?

The eventual winner was Edwin himself, with Gianluigi Buffon knocking out most before him.

Thibaut Courtois wanted Manchester United move

The pick is ever the more interesting considering recent light that Courtois could have in fact been United-bound – had it not been for De Gea.

“I loved Edwin van der Sar and Casillas,” Courtois told Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel.

“I always followed Real Madrid and Manchester United games for that reason. I watched a lot of Edwin growing up and I tried to learn from him.”

Asked by Ferdinand why he never moved to United, Courtois added: “They signed David [de Gea], you know? That shaped my path in a bit of a different way. I was a fan of Man United.”

He continued: “At the moment when I was starting to do well at Genk, there was some interest from Tottenham, some interest from Chelsea and some interest from clubs in other countries too.

“Chelsea at that moment had the best project for me long-term and basically because David was going to Man United, it opened the door for me to go to Atletico. That move made me into the goalkeeper I am today.”

A shame, Courtois is some shot-stopper, and the Red Devils could certainly do with someone like the Belgian in his prime between the sticks at the moment.