The former Manchester United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen has said that he expects the Spaniard David de Gea to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

The 22-year-old signed for Manchester United only recently, but he has been having a torrid time in goal for the Red Devils. Even though he has been an excellent shot stopper for the club during the last 12 months, the youngster has struggled a lot when it comes to the corners and set piece routines. This has allowed the physical teams like Stoke City to take advantage of the Manchester United weakness.

As a result, de Gea has been unable to keep the first-team spot as the manager has often rotated between him and the Danish goalkeeper Andreas Lindegaard. There have also been reports that United will be looking to replace him with the Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas, who is apparently on his way out of the Santiago Bernabeu. Owen, who played for Manchester United for three years before moving to Stoke City in the summer, has backed youngster to recover from his problems. He has said that de Gea will be one of the best goalkeepers after five years. Hence, people should not start judging him at this age.

"Unbelievable save by De Gea. I know I'm right when I say he is top class. You wait to see how good he is in five years. Inevitably he will make more mistakes throughout his career. Even the best do, especially in his position. I'm sure people will then try to highlight it more than they would normally do because he is an easy target. Other goalkeepers have made far more mistakes than him this year but very little is said," said the 33-year-old striker who has scored one goal for Stoke City.