From being labelled a dodgy goalkeeper to becoming arguably the world's best, safe to say David de Gea has enjoyed a meteoric rise at Manchester United.

It's been seven years since the Spaniard was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Atletico Madrid and during that time he's come on leaps and bounds.

He arrived as a skinny 20-year-old whose kit looked two sizes too big for him and from the outset there were concerns about his goalkeeping.

On De Gea's debut against West Brom at the Hawthornes, which United actually won 2-1, he allowed a tame Shane Long strike to wriggle under his body and into the back of the net.

'Jeepers creepers' read newspaper headlines the following day to cap a nervous debut for the then-Spain Under-21 international. 

Mistakes continued to plague De Gea's debut season at United - and his second - so much so that Fergie actually considered sending him back to Spain in the summer of 2013.

But he didn't, and since then De Gea has cut out the errors and become United's best and most consistent player.

RISE TO THE TOP

De Gea has plenty of people to thank for his rise at United and he claims it was a nine-word warning given to him by Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra that really helped him.

Following the 27-year-old's rocky start, Ferdinand and Evra told him: "This is Manchester United. We only accept the best." From that moment, De Gea knew he needed to change.

"Oh my God," De Gea told the Daily Mail. "It was a brutal start. West Brom saw this Spanish kid in goal. So they did the sensible thing - they launched high, long balls and challenged me physically.

"I knew I had to change but I needed time and experience. It was really hard - a new country, a dressing room where I didn't know a soul and a language I could barely speak a word of.

"I was really young. Most kids are just starting university and I was in a dressing room of people who expected to win not just every game but every match in training.

"We had a hugely experienced defence - icons like Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.

"I remember Rio and Paddy telling me: 'OK, fine, you're young, but this is Manchester United. We only accept the best.'"

De Gea had the weight of the world on his shoulders when he joined United and just when it seemed he wasn't up to the challenge, the club's senior players stepped in.

And it's a good job they did, otherwise United may have sold De Gea in the summer of 2013 and missed out on a future world beater.