Anders Lindegaard hoping to cement place in Manchester United team on pre-season tour of USA

Anders Lindegaard of Manchester United (Getty Images)

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Anders Lindegaard is hoping to secure his place in the Manchester United team by impressing boss Sir Alex Ferguson on the club’s pre-season tour of the USA.

The Premier League champions are now without a first choice keeper since the retirement of Edwin van der Sar after the Champions League final, leaving Lindegaard the battle it out with Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Amos for the No.1 jersey.

United are also expected to complete a deal to bring David de Gea to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid to replace the Dutchman.

Lindegaard told the Manchester Evening News: “In the USA, it’s going to be especially important for the goalkeepers to play well because Edwin’s retired and the rest of us are fighting for that jersey.

“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work but I’m looking forward to it very much.

“I’ve been to Florida twice for training camps with other sides but we didn’t play many games in America – certainly not big ones in sell-out stadiums. That’s going to be a great experience.

“Also, I know we’ll do a lot of promotional work in America as well and we’ll get to meet the fans. That’s only natural because we’re the biggest club in the world and America is a huge market.“

The Dane admitted he was apprehensive before his move to Manchester because of the size of the club but after six months now feels at home in the city.

He said: “When you come from a small side in Norway you can’t prepare yourself for how big Manchester United is. But, on the other hand, it has the same mechanisms as any other club – people talk about the same things, they interact in the same way. There’s nothing different in that respect – it’s just that this club is a million times bigger.

“I’m enjoying my time in Manchester very much – more and more with each day that passes, actually. I’m a happy human being at the moment and that’s what life is all about.”