'I see myself in David de Gea' - Manchester United flop Massimo Taibi

Taibi arrived at United in 1999 for £4.5 million but made just four appearances in his only season with the Premier League champions, a spell deemed a massive failure by both fans and critics.

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United’s current goalkeeper, De Gea, has not had the best of starts to his own career at Old Trafford, with the young Spaniard criticised for some high-profile errors between the sticks.

And Taibi believes he can see similarities between his and De Gea’s struggle with the Red Devils, but insists manager Ferguson has shown a faith in his latest man which he was never afforded.

The 41-year-old told Goal.com: "In a sense I see a little of myself in De Gea, who initially had problems, but now he is being shown more confidence - something which I was not granted. As a result, he is now starting to prove his worth.”

The Italian made his debut in a 3-2 win over Liverpool where he was named man of the match after recovering from a flapped attempt at a free-kick that allowed Sami Hyypia to score.

However, one disastrous display against Chelsea saw United lose their first game since December 1998 after Taibi conceded five goals.

That showing saw him moved quickly out of the frame and he eventually left the club at the end of the season to play for Italian outfit Reggina.

"In a sense I see a little of myself in De Gea, who initially had problems, but now he is being shown more confidence - something I was not granted..."

“Ferguson didn’t believe in me enough and gave me no time to prove my worth. I needed a period of acclimatisation, and instead there I was given none.

"I arrived in the August and was immediately picked to play, even though I didn’t know the language or my team-mates well.

“The Premier League is unique, totally different from other European leagues. The biggest regret was that I didn’t prepare with the rest of the team and I wasn’t able to play in the Champions League. Certainly things could have been different."

He said: "Certainly the Premier League is a more beautiful league, Serie A is less talked about now.

"But in Italy people live better than how you live in England, there is a superior quality of life: you feel homesick for your country - at least this is how it was for me."