Connect with us

Manchester United News

Four days to create a different United

louis van gaalLouis Van Gaal insisted Manchester United will be a different side altogether after the transfer window shuts on Monday, as he continues the thorough rebuilding process he’s been tackling since he joined the club.

United have already spent over £130m on players and broke the British transfer record by signing Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid for £59.7m but Van Gaal said the Argentine won’t be the last arrival this summer.

On the departure front, meanwhile, United have Wilfried Zaha joined Crystal Palace on loan on Thursday, becoming the latest player to join the Old Trafford exodus and some of his colleagues could still follow him out of United between now and Monday, as Van Gaal confirmed the overhaul process would not stop until the transfer window shuts.

“I had a conversation after lunch with the players and I said, maybe after this weekend we shall have another group because players shall go away and others shall come in,” said the United manager.

“But I cannot say anything about that [new signings] because it raises the price. The club shall come out when the time is there to announce it. We cannot react on every rumour.

“Also, players shall go [from Old Trafford] in the meantime. I said I wanted to judge the players. I gave them every chance and we have done that in the United States [on a pre-season tour] and also with players who had to stay in Manchester because they were injured or later coming in because of the World Cup.

“Now I have judged all the players. We know already, in advance, what players we want and sometimes you can have them but sometimes it is also dependent on the club.”

Van Gaal insisted that, even after Di Maria’s arrival, United can not afford to cut corners in their rebuilding process, though he refused to say whether he was surprised by the task facing him.

“That is looking at the past,” he said. “That is a question that I don’t want to answer. Why? Because I want to show my respect to David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson.

“I think we have to look to the future and that we are doing now, by restoring and rebuilding a new team. That costs time.

“I’m sorry to say that for the fans, because the fans are amazing. We were at MK Dons, we lost 4-0 and they were singing and supporting the players. It is fantastic we have such fans and I hope we will fulfil their expectations.

“But it’s not done in one month, in spite of our wins against Real Madrid and Liverpool in the US in pre-season. But we have to give results and hopefully it starts on Saturday against Burnley.”

United have struggled to adapt to Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation, conceding seven goals and scoring just two in the Dutchman’s first three official games in charge, though Van Gaal said he had no intention to ditch the three-man defence in favour of a back four.

“I think that we have no problem when the opponent has the ball, because we have defended very well,” he said. “We don’t give any chances away – or very few chances. When you see our matches, I think David De Gea has to deal with two or three balls in a game.

“Our problem is when we have the ball. We have to build up the play, and that we have to improve.

“So I don’t think our defence is weak – our build-up is still not good enough. We shall improve that, but that needs time.”

Dan