Goalkeeper gets Fergie backing

SIR Alex Ferguson has backed David de Gea to survive his tough Premier League baptism.

The Manchester United manager spent £18million on the 20–year–old Spaniard this summer having decided he was the man to replace Edwin van der Sar as the club’s first–choice keeper.

All he got at the Hawthorns yesterday was a bag of nerves as De Gea failed to impose himself in aerial combat, then got beaten by West Brom debutant Shane Long.

The mistake gave West Brom an equaliser after Wayne Rooney had put the champions into a 12th–minute lead. It took Ashley Young's deflected effort near the end to spare De Gea's blushes.

"He is young. He will learn. He will come through," said Ferguson, who drew comparisons with how the great Peter Schmeichel coped on his arrival in the English game in 1991.

"It was the same when Peter Schmeichel came. They punished him in his first games against Leeds and Wimbledon.

“In the second–half David was targeted a bit. Not necessarily physically but there were a lot of challenges that should have been free–kicks but the referee decided to play on."

United were able to capitalise on the failure of title rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool to open their campaigns with a win.

But both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic limped off.