Fergie Eyes In-house Succession

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes Ben Foster or Tomasz Kuszczak will take over from Edwin van der Sar when the veteran finally hangs up his gloves.

The Dutch master, who turns 40 next year, is set to decide in the coming days whether he will continue at Old Trafford beyond next summer when his current contract expires, or give way to someone else.

While Ferguson has been strongly linked with CSKA Moscow's Igor Akinfeev, he has given his clearest indication yet that Van der Sar's successor will come from in-house.

The United boss said: "Edwin's not said anything yet about what he intends to do.

"He has come back from his recent injury well. It will be Christmas time or sometime in December when he will outline his plans and how long he will go on.

"We will await that.

"Ben has terrific ability and needs game experience. Tomasz is also another good keeper.

"At the end of the day the two of them will fight it out, I'm sure of that."