• Premier League

De Gea: Praise sent shivers down my spine

David De Gea says the praise he received following his outstanding performance in Manchester United's 2-1 win against Everton earlier this month sent shivers down his spine.

De Gea produced an inspired display at Old Trafford, with a stunning late save preserving all three points.

David De Gea produced an inspired display against Everton © Getty Images

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He also saved a first-half penalty from Leighton Baines as he earned the admiration of United goalkeeping legend Peter Schmeichel as well as his manager Louis van Gaal.

"All that praise still sends me shivers down my spine," De Gea told German football magazine kicker. "But I don't want to be a hero, I want to help the team."

The praise stands in stark contrast to the early days of De Gea's United career when he was criticised for a poor start to life at Old Trafford.

De Gea admitted he had struggled to deal with the criticism, adding: "I felt bad, even though Alex Ferguson always backed me.

"I tried to be positive. What helped me is that I loved the daily work on the training ground, and used that to get better. But at first it was not easy to cope with all the criticism."

Following his performance in the win over Everton, De Gea has also seen himself linked with a switch to Real Madrid.

Earlier this month, Spanish paper Marca said De Gea could succeed Iker Cassilas in goal at the Bernabeu, claiming he was open to a move and his agent was holding off on talks about a new deal at Old Trafford.

A poll in the paper said the time had come for him to take over from Casillas at the Bernabeu, having started in place of the Real goalkeeper for Spain against Luxembourg in their recent Euro 2016 qualifier. But De Gea, 23, added: "Those are rumours. I am happy here [at United]."

He said United, currently sixth in the Premier League table, were still in a learning process under Van Gaal.

"We are finding ourselves better week by week - that's the result of hard work," he explained. "The challenge is to get back to the very top.

"It's normal to have early difficulties when you get a new manager with a new concept. Van Gaal has always said that it will take time. But there's no doubt about it: United have to return to the Champions League."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd