MANCHESTER UNITED have completed an £18.3million deal to sign keeper David De Gea from Atletico Madrid.
De Gea, 20, is set be United's new No 1 stopper. Boss Alex Ferguson said: "We identified him quite a while back as one we should go for. He is very quick with good presence and is an outstanding replacement for Edwin van der Sar.
Ferguson said last weekend the club were in the middle of concluding a deal for a keeper, with Van der Sar, 40, retiring after Saturday's Champions League final.
Fergie checked out De Gea when he and United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele went to watch him in action against Valencia back in September. They have been monitoring him ever since.
United have scouted far and wide to land the right man to succeed Van der Sar.
They looked at Schalke's Manuel Neuer, who faced them in the Champions League semi-final. But Neuer, 25, opted for a move to Bayern Munich.
Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg was also heavily scouted, as was Sporting Lisbon's Rui Patricio.
The move for De Gea is considered as a gamble by some as he has been playing regular first-team football for only 18 months. But Fergie clearly sees something special in the Spain Under-21 star, who has told his Atletico team-mates he is on his way.
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