Lee full of surprises as keeper starts new chapter at United

LEE Grant caught up with an old friend for lunch.

A man who had played 340 games for United, won 13 trophies at Old Trafford and could tell him a thing or two about some of those boisterous figures in the dressing room.

There were plenty of laughs along the way as Darren Fletcher briefed his former Stoke team-mate about what to expect on his first day at Carrington.

Grant’s eyes lit up – this felt like a dream. The veteran, who had to wait 17 years for his Premier League debut, would soon be sharing a dressing room with David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.

Only a couple of months previously, things were a little less rosy following Stoke’s relegation to the Championship. With Jack Butland still on the club’s books, life as a No.2 in the second tier of English football potentially beckoned unless Grant decided to up sticks.

The 35-year-old is a devoted family man and has never been one to uproot his wife and son, instead choosing to play for clubs within commutable distance of each other – Derby, Burnley, Stoke and now United.

Not that you would have noticed he was plotting a move away. Indeed, Grant was one of the first to return for pre-season training at Stoke’s base at Clayton Wood last month.

That professionalism was never in doubt. Grant was so committed to Stoke’s relegation dogfight last season that he even travelled down for a crunch game with West Ham despite having a broken bone in his wrist.

Jose Mourinho loves that kind of attitude from veterans.

And Grant has already surprised a few United fans following his impressive debut against Club America.

Shot stopping, composure in possession, communication at the back – it was an assured start to life as a No.3 in Phoenix.

Just as he surprised a few people at Stoke, winning the club’s player of the year award in his first season, Grant could yet do the same at United.