United in the market for a new goalkeeper?

Sir Alex Ferguson is rumoured to be eyeing up a January swoop for a new goalkeeper. Veteran Edwin van der Sar may hang up his gloves next summer, so the United boss is keen to add another shot stopper to his ranks to join Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak. However, should Sir Alex be turning to the club's youth players instead?

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Van Der Sar, currently sidelined with a finger injury, sees his current contract expire at the end of the season and, at the age of 39, could well call it a day.

United already have Foster and Kuszczak on their books - and neither player would be too pleased if Fergie added another goalkeeper to the ranks in the New Year. Both players have spent years in the shadow of VDS and will both be hoping to have a good crack at cementing themselves as the club's new number one over the next couple of years.

England international Ben Foster had been considered the natural, long-term successor to Van Der Sar. However, the player's progress has come into question, forcing club officials like youth boss Brian McClair to rally around and support the former Watford loanee.

Meanwhile, Kuszczak is thought to be unsettled at Old Trafford and, despite having a contract with the club until 2012, recently told the press that he intends to "speak to the manager" about his future at the club. He added that he felt "disappointed that the manager did not include me for certain matches" when giving his thoughts on last season.

It could thus be suggested that the long-term destiny of United's number one jersey remains far from certain. It could be for these reasons, therefore, that Ferguson is looking to bring another established shot stopper to the club rather than give a youngster like Ron-Robert Zieler, Ben Amos or Tom Heaton the chance to step up as third choice when VDS does bow out of the professional game.

The media have linked the club with a number of goalkeepers in recent weeks - but one name that keeps popping up is that of Russian stopper Igor Akinfeev. The 23-year-old currently plays for CSKA Moscow and could face United on two occasions in this year's Champions League group stages.

Akinfeev is a well established name in the game despite his tender age. He already has over 150 league appearances for CSKA to his name, and has bagged an incredible 35 caps for Russia to date. The player has a host of Russian medals and a Uefa Cup medal in his cabinet and it is no surprise to see him attracting interest from United. However, the player certainly wouldn't be coming to the club to play second fiddle to anybody.

So, do United need another goalkeeper? Is Foster, Kuszczak or somebody else the future? Or should VDS sign on for longer?
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