'Sir Alex compared me to a toddler taking their first steps." David De Gea says

David de Gea sits down, concentrating his gaze on a computer screen in a small room at Spain's training ground.

He is watching a clip from his first Premier League game. Manchester United won 2-1 at the Hawthorns, but for a 20-year-old, it was a demoralising experience.

A tame strike by West Brom's Shane Long crawled under his body. Within the first hour of his Premier League career, rival supporters were teasing him with cries of 'dodgy keeper'. Sportsmail columnist Jamie Redknapp commented that De Gea 'looked like he needed to grow into his clothes', and rarely has a segment of TV analysis seemed more accurate.

'Oh my God,' De Gea says, rolling his eyes and recalling the 'jeepers keepers' headlines. 'It was a brutal start. West Brom saw this Spanish kid in goal. So they did the sensible thing - they launched high, long balls and challenged me physically. I knew I had to change but I needed time and experience.

'I recall reading about United's interest and I didn't believe it at first. They wanted a replacement for Van der Sar, a 40-year-old who had such experience, and there was me - just a kid. We knew there would be challenges.'

Challenges presented themselves at every turn. After he signed in 2011, errors followed in the Community Shield against Manchester City. A peculiar episode in a supermarket led to The Sun running a front-page story: 'United goalie caught nicking £1.19 Tesco doughnut.'

By August 20 of his first season, there was an interview with United goalkeeping flop Massimo Taibi, who told the world he saw parallels between himself and De Gea.

Yet De Gea is now considered the world's greatest goalkeeper. He was United's Player of the Year three times in a row from 2014 to 2016. He has made the PFA Team of the Year five times in six years, was on the six-man shortlist for Player of the Year, and now has an FA Cup final to savour.

Source: Daily Mail