Irwin Has No Doubts About De Gea

Manchester United legend Denis Irwin has no doubts about David De Gea's mental strength as the keeper hopes to return to first-team action after signing a new contract.

United's reigning Player of the Year has yet to figure for the Reds this season, though he played on tour, but kept a clean sheet when making his first appearance of 2015/16 for Spain in their 1-0 European Championship victory in Macedonia.

It represented a solid performance from the 25-year-old, who was linked with a move to Real Madrid all summer but has instead agreed fresh terms with the Reds. Manager Louis van Gaal had stressed he would reassess the situation this month after selecting Argentina no.1 Sergio Romero in each of the opening six fixtures.

While some might believe recalling De Gea for a key battle with Liverpool could be a risk, despite his world-class display in the fixture last season, Irwin feels the United man would not be fazed by the pressure-cooker atmosphere.

"He's a fantastic keeper and Player of the Year for the last two years," said Irwin. "Mentally, he seems a fairly strong guy to me. A lot of people were questioning him in the first year-and-a-half after he arrived here and he came through that.

"It's down to the manager and we'll see how that pans out. We do know he is a fantastic player and, hopefully, we will see him playing."

One of Irwin's team-mates for the recent Legends clash with Liverpool in Stockholm was somebody who knows all about the art of goalkeeping. Kevin Pilkington was the man between the posts in the famous 'Class of 92' youth team and has enjoyed a lengthy career in the game.

Pilkington is a huge admirer of De Gea's qualities, telling MUTV: "He is one of the best in the world and I think you've got to play him. For me, he's in the top three in the world. You've got Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer and he's right up there with them as well. In my opinion, you've got to pick your best players.

"I can understand definitely [why he wasn't playing] with all the talk about Madrid but he's back at United, a massive club, and hopefully he gets back in the team and does what he is good at."