van der Sar new contract

Edwin van der Sar has signed a new 1 year contract at Man Utd - with no contract to coach - after months of speculation which left his future shrouded in mystery as many predicted the Dutch stopper would retire.

The 37-year-old stopper has now extended his stay at Old Trafford until June 2009, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his experience will be crucial next season.

“Edwin has signed a new contract for another year, so he will be here as a player next season, totally as a player. We are pleased at that because his experience has been a great help to this club,” Ferguson said.

“He is the number one at the moment, so he has a chance being number one next season, but obviously Ben Foster will be back from injury next year, so that’s great for competition.

“You can’t guarantee players a position and say that they are definitely going to be in your team. I’m sure Edwin will want to be number one though.

“That’s why he signed his contract. I’m also sure that Ben will give him a good challenge.”