Ex-Red goalkeeper believes Büttner could become a fan favourite

Alexander Buttner is set to compete with Patrice Evra at left-back.

Ex-Red goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw feels that new signing Alexander Büttner could become a fan favourite at Old Trafford.

Van der Gouw, who made 37 domestic appearances for United between 1996 and 2002, is now a goalkeeping coach at Büttner’s previous club Vitesse Arnhem – and says as long as the left back can get games, then he’ll certainly leave his mark at United.

“If he can play plenty of games then people will love him, because he gives absolutely everything,” he said. “Don’t worry about that; he’ll never let you down. He’s scored a few goals, but that’s because he started out as a left midfielder. He only became a left-back in the last couple of years, but he made such big progress that it became his position.”

Van Der Gouw added, “He still likes to go forward and try to score. He has a powerful kick, a very good left foot and he puts in some good crosses, too. He has a lot of energy and he’s good for team spirit. He’s so excited about joining United. He was very impressed with what he saw of Old Trafford when he went to sign, even though it was empty. I know the feeling.

I’ve got to admit that, upon his arrival, I wasn’t sure about his character and having seen the reaction of many Vitesse fans, it sounded like he was arrogant and a bit of a character. Hopefully, as suggested here by Van Der Gouw, he’ll end up being a fan favourite. Arrogance isn’t always bad, is it? As long as it doesn’t effect a player in a negative way, I couldn’t care.

Finally, Raimond added “I told him he was very lucky to be arriving at a club like United, because it’s a totally different world to any other club, and I told him to take the chance with both hands. I really hope he does.” Ultimately, Fergie said Büttner is one of the most exciting young full backs in the world so it should be seen as an exciting signing – even though many had never heard of him.

It’ll be interesting to see the battle that goes on between Evra and himself and I just hope that, even if he is just a backup signing, we’ll get something positive out of it. Evra’s been lacking for a good few years now and a metaphorical smack-up-the-arse is needed, something I’m sure Büttner will be more than happy to do.