The Red Devils boss is desperate to re-unite with
his Dutch compatriot rather than sign a weaker
midfielder in the summer transfer window, and
would happily wait until January
EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart
Louis van Gaal has told Manchester United that
he is prepared to wait until January to sign Kevin
Strootman rather than bring in a weaker central
midfielder this summer.
The United manager is a huge fan of Strootman
and the club will monitor the Roma midfielder’s
recovery from a serious knee injury with a view to
trying to sign him in the new year.
Van Gaal has described the United squad as 'not
balanced' and the Dutchman wants to sign a box-
to-box central midfielder to bolster his side - but
he is happy to wait to land a top-class target.
Arturo Vidal has been constantly linked with a
move to Old Trafford, but while Van Gaal has
declared his admiration for the Juventus star, club
officials have been keen to play down any
prospect of signing him this summer.
Interest in Germany international Toni Kroos
earlier in the summer cooled before he joined Real
Madrid from Bayern Munich, while concerted
interest in Real midfielder Angel Di Maria looks
like coming to nothing with the Argentine likely to
join Paris Saint-Germain if he leaves the Spanish
capital.
The complete midfielder? | Stootman's 2013-14
Serie A stats
William Carvalho of Sporting Lisbon and Everton's
James McCarthy have also been considered by
Old Trafford officials, while Netherlands
international Memphis Depay could prove a target
next summer - but not this.
However, Van Gaal is adamant that the club need
not panic buy, and is more than happy to work
with his current midfield options come the start of
the new Premier League season - with a view to
making a move for Strootman in January.
That means the likes of Tom Cleverley look set to
initially be given a far bigger role to play at Old
Trafford than many may have expected. The
former Wigan Athletic loanee, something of a
scapegoat during the David Moyes era, has been
given the captain's armband in pre-season and is
one of a few of the club's fringe stars with a
point to prove in 2014-15.
Van Gaal worked closely with Strootman, 24, in
his previous role as Netherlands coach and
believes his compatriot is perfectly suited to the
Premier League and the style he wants to
implement at Old Trafford.
Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman,
is eager to provide Van Gaal with additions in the
transfer market and has claimed the club are
financially strong enough to break the world
transfer record.
But Van Gaal is understood to have told
Woodward to focus his attention on signing a
central defender - Mats Hummels would be his
dream signing, though a move for Arsenal's
Thomas Vermaelen is eminently more realistic at
this stage - rather than chase high profile
attacking players.
United started the summer with a €190 million
budget and have spent almost €76m so far to
bring Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera to Old
Trafford.
