De Gea has been chosen to fill the vacancy created by Edwin van der Sar's retirement despite what many felt was a shaky performance in last weekend's Community Shield encounter with Manchester City. It is not a view Ferguson shares. Although the United boss accepts De Gea got his footwork wrong for Edin Dzeko's second goal, he absolved the former Atletico Madrid man of any blame for the opener, even though it was suggested he should have punched David Silva's inswinging free-kick away from danger. "When free-kicks come in and defenders are converging, the goalkeeper has no chance," said Ferguson. "The delivery was so good. "It was interesting there was no criticism of Joe Hart for our first goal, yet it was exactly the same type of goal. "All it needs is a fraction of a touch and the goalkeeper is dead. If he comes for it, he ends up looking silly. "De Gea will be fine. He will play on Sunday. That is the reason we spent £18million on him." Ferguson reported the 20-year-old has made rapid progress with his English lessons and said goalkeeping coach Eric Steele is confident there will be no communication problems at the Hawthorns. United go into their opening fixture buoyed not only by their superb comeback at Wembley but the performances of so many young players. Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones are amongst those who will hope to play some part, whilst Ferguson also has high hopes for some even younger members of the United playing staff. Teenage French midfielder Paul Pogba leads that group, helping to explain why United are not pursuing any interest in Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder. The Inter Milan star is available and apparently wants to join United. However, his personal demands have proved prohibitive and despite suggestions Sneijder was close to sealing a move away from Serie A, Ferguson insists he is not interested. "I have been saying it for weeks," he said. "Everyone has been writing differently. We are just carrying on with our business. "You can forget anyone you like. I am happy with the young players I have got."
