Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes believes the club should sign Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech if David De Gea departs during the off-season.
De Gea - out of contract at the end of the 2015-16 season - is tipped to join La Liga giants Real Madrid before the start of next term, with the lure home to the Spanish capital reportedly too difficult to turn down.
Veteran keeper Cech, who has found himself playing second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois during Chelsea's Premier League-winning campaign, is set to leave Stamford Bridge and is a candidate to replace the Spaniard in Manchester next term, though United have competition from rivals Arsenal and French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
"If De Gea does go, United should sign Petr Cech. I remember the effect Edwin van der Sar had on the club when he arrived in 2005," Scholes wrote in his column for The Independent.
"United had struggled since Peter Schmeichel to find a really commanding goalkeeper. Fabien Barthez was the closest we got.
"Edwin came ready-made. He was a Champions League winner, he had four years' Premier League experience with Fulham, and in the end our manager got six extremely successful years out of him.
"Edwin was almost 35 when he joined United. Cech has only just turned 33. He could potentially play another six years for United. There would be no concern about having to give him time to play his way into the position or the demands that the Premier League makes of a goalkeeper new to the country. United won’t want to lose De Gea but there is a solution in the offing."
