Carroll warns De Gea of Man Utd `pressure`

London: Former Manchester United goakeeper Roy Carroll has warned David de Gea to expect a "lot of pressure on his shoulders" when he arrives at Old Trafford.

De Gea`s transfer from Atletico Madrid appeared to be on the verge of completion after the 20-year-old, a European Championship winner with Spain Under-21s last weekend, underwent a medical on Monday. The rising star has the daunting task of succeeding Edwin van der Sar as United`s new number one following the Dutchman`s retirement last month. Up until van der Sar`s arrival at Old Trafford six years ago, United had struggled to find a long-term successor to Peter Schmeichel. Carroll was in and out of the side during a four-year stint with the Red Devils between 2001 and 2005 and the former Northern Ireland international said de Gea, for all his experience elsewhere, would be under the spotlight as never before at United. "Edwin van der Sar has done really well for Manchester United over the last few years and this young `keeper is coming to the biggest club in the world - he`s got a lot of pressure on his shoulders," Carroll told reporters. "Manchester United is the sort of club that want to win every trophy and the pressure of playing for United is a big thing." Reports have suggested United could pay as much as £18 million for de Gea, pushing manager Sir Alex Ferguson`s pre-season pending to about £50 million after Phil Jones and Ashley Young both joined the English champions earlier this month."It`s a lot of money for a 20-year-old `keeper but Sir Alex Ferguson knows what he`s doing and I think in the last couple of years he`s proved how good he is in the Spanish league," Carroll said. "He`s played a lot of games and in the European Under-21 Championship.” "I think Sir Alex will have been watching him for quite a while and I`m looking forward to seeing him play in the Premier League." De Gea wrote on his Twitter account: "I have been invited by MAU (sic) to see the club and the city together with my family and to be given an offer."He has already won the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup with Atletico. De Gea was named in the provisional 30-man senior squad for last summer`s World Cup in South Africa, which Spain won, but missed the cut when coach Vincente del Bosque reduced his list to 23 players. Bureau Report