MAN UTD fan Connor Roberts is set to face his hero David De Gea – as The New Saints begin their European adventure in Florence.
TNS have become the first domestic Welsh side to reach the group stage of European competition.
They start the six-game Uefa Conference League phase at last year’s finalists Fiorentina on Thursday.
For keeper Roberts, 31, it is a dream come true, with former United star De Gea set to don the Viola gloves after ending his year-long absence from football to sign for the Italian giants.
Robert, who expects to be the busiest man on the night at Stadio Artemio Franchi, said: “I’m a lifelong Man United fan and it would be extra special to play against De Gea.
“He’s arguably one of the best shot-stoppers the Premier League has ever had.
READ MORE ON MAN UTD
“He was the best goalkeeper in the Premier League by a country mile and I’d say he probably saved United from a couple of bottom-half finishes.
“Unfortunately it didn’t finish too well for him because [Erik ten Hag] came in and wanted to go down a different direction, but football’s all about opinions.”
Roberts counts former United first-team coach Eric Ramsey – now in charge of MLS outfit Minnesota – as a good friend.
And he even considered asking him to contact De Gea before the Florence tie.
Most read in Football
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
He continued: “Eric’s brother Alex is one of my closest mates and is also involved at TNS as part-time goalkeeping coach.
“I’ve also got a good relationship with Eric and I was thinking of asking him to drop De Gea a line and say ‘Listen, can you give the TNS goalkeeper five minutes at the end’?
“But I’ll definitely go and ask for his shirt at the end and maybe have a quick chat then.”
Wrexham-born Roberts’ own career has not hit the heights he dreamed of after signing for Everton aged 15 when he faced the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Tim Cahill and Yakubu in first-team training sessions.
The Wales Under-21 international had various loan stays before spells at Cheltenham and Chester and a move into the Welsh Premiership.
The highlight was a call-up to Chris Coleman’s senior Wales squad for a friendly against the Netherlands in June 2014.
Why NOBODY is the right man to replace Erik ten Hag at Man Utd
SunSport’s DAVE KIDD says Erik ten Hag’s time at Man Utd is up… and explains what’s wrong with all the potential candidates to replace him.
THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.
Roberts remembers: “I couldn’t catch a ball in the warm-up, I was that nervous.
“I went from Wales Under-21s where I was starter over Danny Ward – who has gone on to have a fantastic career – to not being able to get a club for love or money and that was a really tough period.
“I always thought I would climb back up the ladder, but in the end it didn’t turn out that way.”
TNS have already played eight European matches this season.
And Roberts accepts facing Italy striker Moise Kean will be a far sterner test than anything experienced before.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He added: “We’ve managed to attract a bit more attention to the Welsh Premiership with our run in Europe and it’s fantastic to play a team like Fiorentina.
“Hopefully we can keep that solidity we’ve had in the European campaign. It’s a big ask, but giving the best version of ourselves is what counts.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
