Safe keeping: De Gea recovers from early blunder to deliver assured debut

Maybe it was the best thing for him. Maybe the fastest way for David de Gea to show that he is not daunted by becoming the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of English football was to be picking the ball out of net with practically his first act as a Manchester United player.

It gave the 20-year-old a chance to demonstrate that he has the self-confidence and mental strength to match his physical skills.

All eyes were on De Gea after that, and on whether the £17.8million man would wilt on his debut in the 100 degree heat of Soldier Field after the Barclays Premier League champions conceded a shock 13th-minute goal against Chicago Fire.

It's behind you: David De Gea conceded just 13 minutes into his Manchester United debut, but recovered well

But there was just a rueful shake of the head. Then the Spaniard dusted himself down and got on with an assured performance that came less than a week after meeting his new team-mates on their tour of America.

‘He wasn’t fazed by it,’ said United’s goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, who is in charge of overseeing the progress of a player he has followed since watching De Gea impress for Spain in the Under 17 European Championship four years ago.

‘When you’ve played for Atletico Madrid in La Liga 84 times at 20 years of age and faced some of the top players, he knows that’s what you have to do — get it out of the net and start again.

‘You’re always nervous in the first game but in the end I thought he equipped himself well. Don’t forget, he only came in on Monday to a big club and within five days we’ve put him in.’

Flippin' marvellous: United overcame the deficit to win 3-1 in near 100 degree heat

Even so, the goal raised more concerns that De Gea is not too confident under the high ball, a flaw that would be ruthlessly exposed in the Barclays Premier League.

Steele shared manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s impression that he should have come out for a free-kick launched into his penalty box, allowing Cory Gibbs to steal in ahead of United’s other debutant Phil Jones and score with a header from close-range.

Ferguson later revised his view and claimed the keeper ‘had no chance’, but Steele said: ‘I thought he probably could have come for the ball. But it’s pre-season and we’ve not had time to work on it.’

Dominant: United's goalkeeping coach admitted some work must be done on De Gea's dealing with the high ball

De Gea more than redeemed himself with a point-blank save on the stroke of half-time and an even better effort just after the hour mark, which appeared all the more valuable when United then scored three goals in the space of 16 minutes to run out 3-1 winners.

Possibly the goalkeeper’s greatest assets, however, were his composure at the back and confidence with the ball at his feet, which was a key consideration when Ferguson was seeking a replacement for Edwin van der Sar.

Steele added: ‘He’s very mature for his age on the ball, which we’ve been used to. If we’re going to play the United way, we need a keeper who can do that. He’s got a hard act to follow but we always knew that. You’ll see a gradual improvement right through, but we have to do it quickly.’

Two other areas of concern are De Gea’s build — relatively slight considering he is 6ft 4in - and the fact he hardly speaks a word of English. But Steele, who has been learning Spanish to help communicate in the early stages, is confident both issues will be resolved.

United flew to New York yesterday morning ahead of their game against the Major League Soccer All-Stars and another meeting with Barcelona in Washington DC at the weekend.

The European champions are familiar opponents for De Gea, but he said: ‘It doesn’t matter to me that it’s a Spanish team. It’s a rematch of the Champions League final so we have to try to beat Barcelona. I want to get my levels up to 100 per cent as soon as possible so I can give my best for United.’