Spaniard David de Gea’s horror show against Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup has been a hot topic on virtually every social media platform but his predecessor at Manchester United, Edwin van Der Saar, feels the custodian has it in him to become the very best.

After replacing the legendary Dutchman at Old Trafford, de Gea had a difficult start to life at United but quickly established himself as the finest shot-stopper in the Premier League.

The 27-year-old only recently established himself as Spain’s No.1 and is widely regarded as one of the premier goalkeepers in the world, along with Germany and Bayern Munich man Manuel Neuer.

However, his reputation was in tatters after a calamitous display against Portugal in a pulsating 3-3 draw.

While he wasn’t at fault for Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo’s first, an early penalty converted by the talismanic striker, he didn’t cover himself in glory for the second.

Ronaldo’s left-footed shot was firm, but it was straight at the keeper, yet the ball squirmed from his grasp and trickled into the net.

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And many felt that his poor positioning contributed to Ronaldo’s third, a viciously dipping free-kick that levelled proceedings late in the tie, as well.

Speaking to MUTV before the match kicked off at the Fisht Stadium, the legendary Dutch shot-stopper said, “I couldn’t imagine how well he has done. He was a very young goalkeeper when he came, replacing me, but he and also the coaches have put in a lot of work to make him the goalkeeper he is now.”

“Eric Steele first and, after, Frans Hoek with Louis van Gaal. He is performing really well. The next step is to be more demanding from his defenders and also to play a little bit more out of his goal but (in terms of) his reaction saves – nobody makes better saves than David De Gea.”

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De Gea’s starting spot is not under danger, but he will be under pressure to bounce back as La Roja look to win their second World Cup. Sergio Ramos, Spain’s captain, was among the many players to come out and publicly back the keeper to come good.

“Yes, these are areas he can work on but he’s 28 (later this year) and I was 34 when I came to United. So he still has a lot of time to improve and the level he has now is an immense high.”

The 2010 winners will now take on Iran and Morocco as they bid to avoid any upsets and reach the knockout stages.

“Maybe he can find another thing to add to his game and the goalkeeping coaches find another thing to work on to set himself as the proper number one in the world.“