The Manchester United manager is targeting Danish keeper Anders Lindegaard as he looks for a long-term successor to Edwin van der Sar.
Ferguson has been monitoring the 26-year-old, who plays for Norwegian side Aalesunds and is considering a bid, having sold £6m Ben Foster to Birmingham this summer.
United know they are running out of time to find a replacement for Van der Sar, who has one year left on his contract and turns 40 in October.
Fergie has run the rule over a host of Europe’s top keepers, including Germany’s Manuel Neuer, France international Hugo Lloris, CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev and Sebastien Frey of Fiorentina.
But Lindegaard would represent a cut-price option, much in the way that Schmeichel was when he arrived from Brondby for £550,000 in 1991.
The Great Dane still stands out as one of Fergie’s best buys.
Lindegaard’s agent is former Liverpool goalkeeper Michael Stensgaard who confirmed that his player is being watched by a host of top clubs.
“Anders has been playing at a very high level for a long time now and that has been noticed around Europe. He absolutely has the ability to play in the Premier League.”
Lindegaard is under contract until 2012, but would be available at a fraction of the cost of United’s other targets.
Ferguson will be happy to wait until the end of the season before making a move after van der Sar signed a one-year extension. But his hand could be forced if one of Lindegaard’s other suitors steps in with a bid in the meantime.
He wants to give young keeper Ben Amos the chance to prove he can be van der Sar’s long-term successor before splashing the cash, having promoted the 20-year-old to No3.
Ferguson is hopeful he can succeed where a long line of talented youngsters have failed and establish himself as a future No1 at United.
He has sent Amos a clear message that the door is open, to one day become first choice at Old Trafford.
“We think he is an outstanding young goalkeeper,” he said. “He has an incredible physique and is improving his speed.
“When it comes to experience, he will have to wait because Edwin van der Sar is still showing good form and Tomasz Kuszczak is very good too. But his time will come because he has got the ability.”
Amos’s chance has arisen because of Foster’s failure to establish himself as No1 last season. It eventually led to a move to Birmingham, with Ferguson losing patience with a player he once described as the best goalkeeper in England.
Which is why Amos should take his manager’s praise with a pinch of salt. Other promising keepers like Tom Heaton, Luke Steele, Nick Culkin and Kevin Pilkington have all failed to make the grade at the club.
Ferguson has consistently splashed the cash for goalkeepers with Schmeichel, Fabien Barthez and van der Sar his most successful No1s. And he is ready to spend again to replace Van der Sar, having kept tabs on a stellar list of potential replacements.
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Christ, I can't wait for the season to start, every day another transfer non-story on MEN. Not gonna sign anyone, move on!!
calm under pressure, able to keep concentration as in some matches the united keeper is rarely called into action but when it happens there's danger all over, good ball distribution and organisational skills; safe pair of hands, superb reflexes, excellent in the air. If this lad ticks all these boxes and more; most welcome!!
Not heard of this lad...........any good???
Should i You tube his ass?
BEN FOSTER OUT FOR £6M THEN LINDEGAARD IN FOR £550K
WHERE THIS TRANSFER KITTY THEN AS I SEE IT THE GLAZERS ARE JUST POCKETING MORE.
AND WHY NOT WHEN FERGIE IS PUBLICALLY BACKING IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Platt, the 550,000 referred to the Schmikes fee. But I see your point. Neuer or similar would cost twice what this Dane would.
I wouldn't do that..... you might find all sorts of weird stuff....
This is the type of signing United are good at making. Extensive research will have gone into this relatively unknown player. And i for one trust the scouts judgement. Wecome.
Northern European goalkeepers suit us down to the ground. They could have nothing to do for 4 or 5 games but they don't get bored, they stay focused.
It's probably a tired national stereotype but it seems to have worked out for us in practice - compare Ed & Schmikes with Barthez, Bosnich, Taibi, Foster and all the other wonder lads. Not to say they're all bad goalkeepers but they were not suited to United, they perform better when they make 5 saves per game for Monaco, Middlesborough, Atalanta or Watford.
When Ed kept all those clean sheets in a row last year, for instance, he probably only made about 7 saves, yet he kept the defence organised, calmed them all down, and dealt with all the other aspects with ease - crosses, back passes etc. That's the sort of keeper we need.
it doesnt say 550k, that was the price paid for schmeichel.i imagine it will be around 4-6 mill, in other words the foster money would buy his replacement, which makes sense if we are skint im afraid!
i do hope that the scouts who are advising him are not the same who persuaded him to shell out on barthez,taibi,fernadez kit kat etc
Steele have been watching Lindegaard for a while now, and have been visiting ColorLine Stadion a couple of times. Sir Alex have recieved plenty of DVDs of Lindegaards performances this season.
As I've said a lot of times - Anders Lindegaard is by far the best gk in norwegian Tippeliga and a very good signing for United. (Ben Amos failed to make an impact for Molde (on loan) in this years Tippeliga). The price would be around £5m rather than £550k as he recently signed a improved three year contract for Aalsund. Good range (193cm high), solid grip and excellent passing skills.
Anders Lindegaard, Kevin Doyle (offload Michael Owen to Liverpool) and Mesut Özil (as a replacement for Hargreaves) have been my dream signings all spring/summer (Bundesliga is shown on norwegian TV, and Özil impressed me long before the WC). Of course I also would like to see Dzeko and Sneijder in the United-shirt, but that won't happen.
who?????
sorry not good enough. seen him play plenty of times for Aalesund and while he seems fair in the norwegian leauge, nobody playing here is even close to being of premier league standard...aka diouf
I'm from Aalesund, and have seen him a great deal. He's the best goalkeeper in the Norwegian league by a mile, but I have my doubts wether he's quite good enough. He could be, but my main concern is if he can play for a top side.
Aafk is not normaly considered a top side in Norway, but at the moment they are figthing for 2nd or 3rd place and that has a lot to do with Lindegaards form between the sticks.
It's rumored that scouts from United watched him play against Valerenga in Aalesunds last match were Lindegaard single handedly won the game for Aafk.
Lindegaard has all the attributes to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He's tall (6,3 feet), He's agile and has a great reach. He's above average in the area, but the best part of his game is as a shot stopper. He's made quite a few stunning saves in his time at Aalesund.
Personally I'm as exited if they sign Lindegaard as I would have been if we signed Neuer or Lloris, and I rate him above Akinfeev. My only concern however is if he would be able to go large parts of the match without anything to do and then suddenly have to step in and make a save. Thats a situation I've never seen him in before so I'm not certain that he can do it. Thats something we wount know untill he's playing for a top side anyway so no reason to dwell on that.
He's a big United fan as well with the great dane as his role model. That surly counts in his favour.
I'm from Aalesund, and have seen him a great deal. He's the best goalkeeper in the Norwegian league by a mile, but I have my doubts wether he's quite good enough. He could be, but my main concern is if he can play for a top side.
Aafk is not normaly considered a top side in Norway, but at the moment they are figthing for 2nd or 3rd place and that has a lot to do with Lindegaards form between the sticks.
It's rumored that scouts from United watched him play against Valerenga in Aalesunds last match were Lindegaard single handedly won the game for Aafk.
Lindegaard has all the attributes to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He's tall (6,3 feet), He's agile and has a great reach. He's above average in the area, but the best part of his game is as a shot stopper. He's made quite a few stunning saves in his time at Aalesund.
Personally I'm as exited if they sign Lindegaard as I would have been if we signed Neuer or Lloris, and I rate him above Akinfeev. My only concern however is if he would be able to go large parts of the match without anything to do and then suddenly have to step in and make a save. Thats a situation I've never seen him in before so I'm not certain that he can do it. Thats something we wount know untill he's playing for a top side anyway so no reason to dwell on that.
He's a big United fan as well with the great dane as his role model. That surly counts in his favour.
whether you can handle crosses and the physical element, determines whether you're good enough to be a keeper in the EPL.
then you have to cope with the amount of times we go back to our keeper, in pressure situations, in an attempt to keep the ball.That's why Ed VdS is still THE BEST..... because he's actually a better footballer (technically) than many of our outfield players !!...... thta's why JoS likes it in nets ! ;)
tommy Kantkick is a top shot stopper, but after that he's about as commanding & imposing as my 82 yr old Nan ! .. so this kid HAS to be more than just a shot stopper !!
finally, good to see the Glazer Sport/business model is progressing at Utd. i.e.
" BUILD A FRANCHISE WITH THE YOUNGEST & LOWEST PAID ROSTER IN THE COMPETITION"
"YEA UNCLE MALC........ YOU'RE THE GREATEST..... YE HAH"........... Now get lost !!
barthez successful? come on! i can still see ronaldo's shot at the near post. he never seemed that bothered
[quote name=DC, New York]Northern European goalkeepers suit us down to the ground. They could have nothing to do for 4 or 5 games but they don't get bored, they stay focused.
It's probably a tired national stereotype but it seems to have worked out for us in practice - compare Ed & Schmikes with Barthez, Bosnich, Taibi, Foster and all the other wonder lads. Not to say they're all bad goalkeepers but they were not suited to United, they perform better when they make 5 saves per game for Monaco, Middlesborough, Atalanta or Watford.
When Ed kept all those clean sheets in a row last year, for instance, he probably only made about 7 saves, yet he kept the defence organised, calmed them all down, and dealt with all the other aspects with ease - crosses, back passes etc. That's the sort of keeper we need.[/quote]
I was told he almost completed a sudoko puzzle during the city game but had to keep screaming at Rio to keep him awake. I think we have to bite the bullet on Hargo plus Owen. I would prefer Wellbeck to Owen as he is more versatile. Dump Macheda and get Diouf and Cleverly playing time at Sunderland under Brucie. Buy Ozil.
If there's one thing I love about Man Utd...it's their ability to scout players! If history is anything to go by, and looking at previously scouted players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani...Chicharito and possibly Anders Lindegaard will be awesome!
hich just goes to prove that there is no money available for the likes of Neuer and Akinfeev, who are dead certs to succeed. Yet another let's hope for the best move - like Obertan, de Laet and Danny's other favourites.
I would suggest that it's going to be even harder to replace VDS than it was to replace Schmeichal. As Balders says, VDS is a very good footballer as well as Goalkeeper, comfertable with both feet and capable of hitting 50-60 yard passes with as much accuracey as Scholes!! The important thing is we get it right first time, SAF hasnt got a great record when it comes to buying Goalkeepers with potential and I think its better to go for a ready made replacement with the experience rather than an up and coming Goalkeeper who might make it. A lot of pressure comes with the number 1 shirt at United, make sure it goes to someone who can handle it.
So 550K for a keeper, is this the big money signing Gill was talking about?
Feels like 1970 not 2010!
Buying Lloris would be a disgrace after all of his poor performances for the french national team, let arsenal have him. When it comes to Lindegaard, he will probably be Denmarks no.1 soon. No doubt about his ability and I agree he has been Tippeligaens best keeper the last few years. Although I'm still unsure if he can keep improving and be the keeper United needs. Imo going for Lindegaard as a direct replacement for VDS would be a gamble. He would rather be a replacement for Kitkat if he gets sold, which he should as he is no better than Foster was.
its about bloody time somebody from this club told the public the TRUTH about the state of this club we are fast becoming a joke
Forget the Goalkeeper story
Sky Bet have just slashed the odds on Ozil signing from evens to 1/5