Van Gaal handed £150m to spend this summer

Louis Van Gaal has been handed £150m to spend on players this summer, as the United manager looks to continue the overhaul of his squad.

The former Holland manager spent £150m in his first summer at United on the likes of Daley Blind, Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera but his team remain short of quality in key areas of the pitch and short of depth in others.

According to the Guardian, Van Gaal has made signing Paul Pogba his priority, although brining the Frenchman back to Old Trafford could cost United an eye-watering £71.5m.

The United manager wants to have a world class midfielder in his side next season but convincing Pogba to leave Juventus – a side with which he could win the treble this season – is likely to prove a difficult task.

United are also keeping tabs on Pogba’s teammate Arturo Vidal, whom they chased throughout last summer, and Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan, the broadsheet added.

Curiously, however, there was no mention of Gareth Bale, despite the Welshman being repeatedly linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer by a number of publications earlier this week, in the wake of the criticism he’s received at Real Madrid.

Away from the middle of the park, Van Gaal is determined to add a top quality centre-back to his team, with Borussia Dortmund’s captain Mats Hummels at the top of his wishlist.

With Rafael’s career at United blighted by a number of injuries, Van Gaal will be looking to add a specialist right-back to his side rather than having to rely on Antonio Valencia and the club are closely monitoring Barcelona’s Dani Alves and Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne.

Meanwhile, should David De Gea leave, the replacement is likely to be one between Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris, Chelsea’s Petr Cech and Internazionale’s Samir Handanovic.