In a surprise move, Premier League champions Manchester United have taken Austrian goalkeeper Michael Langer on trial.

The 24-year-old is third choice at German Bundesliga side Freiburg and has yet to make an appearance this season.

Langer, 6.4ft, came through the ranks at Stuttgart and joined Frieburg in 2007/2008. He is contracted to the club until 2010/2011 and is believed to be worth around 250,000 euros.

The former Austrian Under-21 goalkeeper is not overly impressive according to IMScouting’s network of scouts in Germany and places question marks over the futures of both Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster at Old Trafford.

Current Manchester United number one Edwin van der Sar is in the final year of his contract and the Red Devils have been linked with a number of keepers across Europe including Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow) and Manuel Neuer (Schalke).