Top 10 things you need to know about Anders Lindegaard

1) His full name is Anders Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

2) He was born in Dyrup, Denmark, on the 13th of April 1984.

3) He stands at a not inconsiderable height of 1.93m tall (or 6' 4" to most of us), meaning he's just one inch shorter than the imposing figure of Van Der Sar.

4) Sir Alex has sent his goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, to view the talented Dane on no fewer than five occasions now, so it's fairly safe to say he's pretty high up on their list of potential candidates.

5) One draw back might be his relative inexperience. Despite already being 26 years of age he's only made 73 professional league appearances. While at his old club Odense he was considered a back up, and for this reason he only featured 11 times in five years.

6) His career really kick-started after his 2009 move to Norwegian club Aalesund, where he's now played in over 50 games. Although he impressed, it still wasn't enough to force his way into the national team in time for the World Cup.

7) Despite being a late bloomer, it's fairly safe to safe he's now coming along nicely, having just broken into the Danish national squad, albeit via an injury to first team regular Thomas Sorenson. He kept a clean sheet against Iceland on his debut, but during his second cap - having replaced Sorenson on the half-hour mark - he was beaten by the majestic Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Danes went down 3-1.

8) He's played in Britain before, in a Europa League match against Motherwell, a game in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a trusted adviser of Fergie, was sent to cast his eyes over the stopper. Unfortunately, Aalesund left Scotland after a disappointing 3-0 defeat. Lindegaard was quick to show his disappointment, and to point out there was little he could have done. "Playing in Great Britain, there's probably a couple of clubs here watching and, when you're down after 15 minutes 2-0 and the other team doesn't have a decent shot on goal for the rest of the game, then this wasn't a good game for me to show the world," he said.

9) Naturally, considering his size and nationality, there will be comparisons with Peter Schmeichel, a man Ferguson described as ‘the bargain of the century’, after signing the gentle giant for just £530,000 back in 1991. However, there won't be any chance of getting his man on the cheap this time, as Aalesund director Henrik Hoff stated "Anders Lindegaard is in my eyes the best keeper in the Tippeliga and if he should be sold, a big sum will be required."

10) Whether it be a move to the Red Devils or not, a move away from Norway seems imminent. His agent, Michael Stensgaard, revealed that his client's rapid rise has not escaped the attention of the Europe's heavyweights. "Anders has been playing at a very high level for a long time now and that has been noticed around Europe. He absolutely has the ability to play in the Premier League," he said. Who needs scouts when you can just ask a player's agent?