DENVER: Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hinted for the first time that he is keen to bring Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman to the club.
Roma coach Rudi Garcia – who faces Van Gaal and United here in America this afternoon – said on Friday that the Dutch international would not be leaving Italy.
However, Van Gaal said at his press conference on Saturday morning that he will wait for Strootman to recover from ligament surgery before deciding whether to make a bid.
He said: “I never usually say anything about individual players. It is my vision that we talk about a team and not individual players.
“But Strootman I can judge. He is injured for more than six months. We have to wait and see how he comes back. It is not easy to say how he comes back from injury, but we will wait and see.”
Van Gaal conducted an open training session at Denver Broncos’ Sports Authority Field yesterday.
This time there were none of the histrionics that were a feature of training in Los Angeles earlier in the week but the 62-year-old’s hands-on approach was once again clear.
One thing that was noticeable was that Van Gaal an all his staff wore identical old-fashioned black football boots, in stark contrast to the multi-coloured footwear sported by the United players.
During a session that lasted more than an hour, the United manager concentrated on set-pieces and shooting practice.
Afterwards, Van Gaal claimed his major mission at Old Trafford was to train his players’ minds rather than their bodies but dismissed suggestions it would be tough to introduce a more technical style of football to the club’s English players.
He said: “The important thing is that I am training the players not in the legs, but in their brain. Brainpower. That is important thing. I say things how they are, it is my direct character. But they can do it.
“At Bayern Munich they had always played 4-4-2 and I introduced the system they are playing now and it was a different thing for the players. But they did it.
“Here, they are willing to pick up all the information that we show and say and that is very important. They want to perform our philosophy, but we have to wait and see how it develops.
“I see progression every day, but also not always good things. We are here to improve, though. My philosophy is always there.
You must take into account the quality of the opponent and give team a structure to cope. Off the pitch also there are many rules the players must fulfil for me. Daily Mail