Paddy Crerand has claimed that David de Gea has the potential to become as good as Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United.

Schmeichel played a key role in helping the club achieve success in the 1990s, and Crerand believes that De Gea's improvement since his arrival at Old Trafford is proof that he can follow in the Danish goalkeeper's footsteps.

"I remember when Schmeichel first came here, he struggled a little bit with crossed balls, but he got better as he got older and was an absolutely fantastic keeper for Manchester United. This kid could get there no problem," the former United midfielder told MUTV.

"He's getting better and better. I remember when he first arrived - if you watch Spanish football, you never see balls being thrown into the box - so when he came here at first teams tried to make it as difficult as possible for him.

"He must have found it strange but he's improved out of all recognition - he doesn't have any problems with that type of ball into the box anymore."

United spent a reported £17.8m to sign De Gea from Atletico Madrid in 2011.