Van still the man for Ferguson

Manchester United are amassing a healthy group of promising goalkeepers - but Edwin van der Sar is still the undisputed number one as far as Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned.

The Red Devils boss believes he has given the Dutchman genuine competition for his first-team spot with the capture of Tomasz Kuszczak from West Brom.

"Edwin was a fantastic help to us last season and hopefully it will be the same this season too," said Ferguson. "He brings experience, presence, stature and personality and, more than anything, he seems to be really enjoying himself."

He added: "His decision to carry on playing with Holland after the World Cup said a lot.

"Most players in his situation, having achieved the record number of caps for their country, just decide to retire. Edwin has not done that, which tells you he still has the hunger to go on.

With Ben Foster and Tim Howard due to gain valuable Premiership experience from their loan spells at Watford and Everton over the next 12 months, Ferguson is convinced he has finally addressed the goalkeeping problems that have dogged him since the retirement of Peter Schmeichel in 1999.

Ferguson added: "Of course, it is possible we will offer Edwin another year after this one. The longer he stays here, the better it will be for Tomasz and Ben."

Many fans have raised their eyebrows at Ferguson's pursuit of Kuszczak, wondering why the long-serving boss felt it necessary to bring in another goalkeeper when Ben Foster was effectively rated by Sven-Goran Eriksson as the fourth-ranked English stopper.

The answer, as far as the Scot is concerned, is simple.

"Tomasz is ahead of Ben in terms of experience at the moment because he has played in the Premiership and been involved with his national side (Poland), which is important," said the Scot. "What we are trying to do is identify potential."