Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis 'is training with Man United's academy'

Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis is reportedly training with Manchester United's academy at Carrington as part of an attempt to keep fit.

The 36-year-old spent seven years at Pittodrie, rising to club captain, but left Aberdeen in the summer after losing his first-team place to Dutch goalkeeper Kelle Roos.

Lewis, who spent his youth career at Norwich City, and also made 190 appearances for Peterborough United, lives locally to the Manchester United training ground, and the club also believe that his presence is a positive for the academy.

The Daily Telegraph's Mike McGrath wrote on X (formerly Twitter): 'Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis is training with Manchester United's academy to keep fit. The 36yr old was at Pittodrie for 7 years and is currently a free agent.'

McGrath added that Man United view Lewis as a 'good short-term addition to the Academy's training pool of goalkeepers.

'The 36yr old, last at #Aberdeen, lives locally and has been training at Carrington to keep fit as a free agent.'

As Mail Sport previously reported, third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton could leave Man United in January after falling down the pecking order.

Turkish shotstopper Altay Bayindir, signed from Fenerbahce for £4.3million in the summer, has yet to make an appearance but has been tipped to step-in for Andre Onana, should the number one ever need replacing.

Manchester United's midweek exit from Europe has cost the club at least £28m, which will impact on the way that Erik ten Hag's side will operate in the transfer market.

The money from the Champions League - including prize money and broadcasting revenue - is hugely important to any football club, and has previously proven itself to be the difference between Man United turning a profit and suffering a financial loss.

Man United look unlikely to be big spenders in the January transfer window - despite the seemingly imminent arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe - and that is where free agents like Lewis could be beneficial in the short term.

After leaving Peterborough in 2012, Lewis joined Cardiff City, where he made one Premier League appearance for the Bluebirds in a 1-1 draw with Hull City.

From there, he made loan moves to Blackpool and Fulham, before making the permanent switch to Aberdeen in 2016.

Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Lewis was named as Aberdeen's club captain, following his high number of appearances for the Scottish Premiership side, but found himself squeezed out with the arrival of Roos in 2022.