Van der Sar’s United mission

EDWIN VAN DER SAR is hoping he can finally end Alex Ferguson’s search for a worthy successor to Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United.

Van der Sar, currently on international duty with Holland in Finland, has agreed a two-year deal with United which he will sign, subject to a medical, when he returns from Helsinki.

Ferguson has tried a succession of keepers since Schmeichel’s glorious reign at Old Trafford but none of them have come close to measuring up to the great Dane.

Now he has turned to 34-year-old van der Sar, who has been one of the most consistent keepers in the Premiership during his time with Fulham.

And van der Sar is hoping he can succeed where the likes of Raimond van der Gouw, Massimo Taibi, Fabien Barthez, Ricardo, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard have all failed in the past.

“They’ve tried a lot of keepers and I will perform the best that I can,” vowed the 6ft 5in Dutchman.

“I’ll do my best to get halfway to what Peter achieved at Old Trafford.”

United were linked with a move for van der Sar during the January transfer window but nothing materialised and Ferguson made his move at the end of the season after revealing Carroll was not going to be offered a new deal.