Manchester United's in-form goalkeeper David De Gea has revealed how he worked on his physique to cope with the demanding standards of the Premier League.
The Spaniard joined the Red Devils from Atletico Madrid aged 20 in 2011. Right from the beginning, he had a shaky start and committed a number of costly mistakes and was targeted at set-pieces during his first six months in England.
Sir Alex was very proactive in transforming De Gea's scrawny physique. He alloted the young goalie a gym programme that helped him increase in size and strength.
Admitting the effectiveness of that programme, De Gea said,
I was like Captain America in one year! No, I still do the programme, although not as much as before. It is more of a reduced programme now but certainly I did a lot of gym work at the start and it did have a big impact.
David De Gea was awarded Manchester United's Player of the Year award for 2013-14; becoming the first goalkeeper to win the award. Since then, his performances have improved immensely under Louis van Gaal and he has been one of the top performers for United besides Rooney and Carrick.
