According to reports from Goal, Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has once again reiterated his desire to sign ‘fast wingers’.
The Dutchman has spent over £250million on new players since taking the Old Trafford hot seat after the 2014 World Cup but remains unconvinced by his current squad – with a speedy wide man one of the missing ingredients.
LVG has made no secret of his desire to sign a winger who can add penetrative pace to United’s attack, telling reporters following a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion earlier this month; “You have seen that now we play with Jesse Lingard and he is not the most speedy winger in the world and Mata is also not the most speedy winger in the world. So first we must first finish that problem and then we can see how we have to play and how we are in balance with playing with speedy wingers.”
And according to Goal, the Red Devils boss has reiterated that message once again during his pre-match press conference for United’s Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven this evening. He said; “I said on September 1 that I think we have a better balance in our selection and I suspected we would do better than last year. But still I need more balance in my selection and I have already said that we need fast wingers to get us to where we have to be.”
The Premier League title hopefuls have resultantly been linked with a number of potential January additions over the last few weeks. Bosman-bound Valencia star Sofiane Feghouli, Southampton speedster Sadio Mane, Bournemouth trail-blazer Matt Ritchie, Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, Schalke starlet Leroy Sane and Ballon-d’Or-desperate Barcelona forward Neymar, to name a few, are all reportedly on United’s radar.
However, whether van Gaal will look to acquire one in January or at the end of the season remains to be seen. Most reports – such as this one from The Daily Mail – claim the United boss will target one January, but the winter window has never been much of a buyer’s market.