Who is Manchester United's Player of the Season?

Goalkeeper David de Gea scooped the club's awards on Tuesday after an excellent campaign, but does he get your vote? Goal presents three candidates for the Red Devils

After the disaster that was Manchester United's first season of life after Sir Alex Ferguson, their aim in 2014-15 was, for the first time in a long time, to first and foremost secure a return to the Champions League, with challenging for Premier League glory something of an afterthought.

Louis van Gaal's debut season has had its ups and downs. At worst, especially around midway through the campaign when unfavourable comparisons were being drawn to sacked predecessor David Moyes's record over the same timeframe, it looked like they might again fall short - but they head into their final game assured of a place in the top four thanks to a spring recovery.

But who has been the standout performer? Goal has picked out the three star men from United's campaign, leaving you with a poll to decide who their player of the season has been...

DAVID DE GEA

Both players and fans chose the goalkeeper as their MVP at United’s end-of-season awards gala on Tuesday, backing him for a fantastic season in which he drove home the extent of his development at Old Trafford from nervous youngster to inspirational professional.

De Gea has kept 10 clean sheets behind a Red Devils defence lacking in top-class talent and deprived of consistency by rampant injuries, and is the Premier League’s most likely No.1 to conjure an out-of-your-seat save from an impossible position.

It is no surprise that Real Madrid are circling. If Van Gaal can convince the Spaniard to sign a new contract with United, it would be his best transfer of the summer.

MAROUANE FELLAINI

The former Everton man had a disastrous first season at United after his £27.5 million move, seen as the emblem of Moyes’s ill-fated reign. He did not score in 16 league appearances and many were surprised to see him still at Old Trafford at the end of Van Gaal’s busy first summer.

But the Belgium international has come into his own in the second half of this campaign – and it is not a coincidence that his team have improved considerably over the same period.

Committed and useful both as a way to shut down tough opponents in midfield and as an unorthodox attacking presence, Fellaini has scored a goal every four games since breaking his competitive duck for United against West Brom in spectacular fashion back in October. Whether or not they would be in the top four without him is a serious question.

WAYNE ROONEY

Some were surprised to see him named ahead of Robin van Persie as Van Gaal’s captain but Rooney has again been the key forward presence for the Red Devils this season. With 12 goals and five assists, he has been directly involved in at least four more Premier League strikes than any other United player.

He achieved this despite often being forced back into a midfield role, covering both injuries and awful form in the engine room, while the likes of Van Persie and Radamel Falcao toiled awkwardly ahead of him.

Rooney may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he is hard-working, versatile and ultimately gets results. As perhaps the only United forward who might survive the summer still at Old Trafford, he is set to be just as key in the months ahead