David de Gea has denied Víctor Valdés is training with Manchester United because Louis van Gaal wants him to take over as the first-choice goalkeeper.
De Gea is nursing a dislocated finger which appears likely to rule him out of United’s trip to Arsenal on Saturday though the Spaniard believes he has an outside chance of still playing.
Although De Gea is yet to sign a new deal at United he is clear Valdés, who is recovering from a serious knee injury, is not being lined up as the new No1. “Yes, my contract runs out in 2016. But they didn’t sign him for that,” he told the Spanish newspaper, AS. “Víctor had a difficult injury, he had a bad time and the boss knows him well and has given him the opportunity to recover there.
“Víctor is training over in Manchester, he’s still not 100% after his injury. When he is fully fit he will start to train with us. He’s still not training in goal with us. From time to time he comes out with the goalkeeping coach but very little still.
“Van Gaal knows him well because he gave Víctor his debut at Barça and has a special affection for him and whenever possible we have to help where we can. Football is cruel at times, it’s difficult. When things go well you’re very good and when they go badly, well, it’s awful.”
As a free agent United can sign Valdés outside of the transfer window and play him, as they have one free space in their 25-man Premier League squad allocation.
