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Van Gaal prepares to rip up United's squad

Louis van Gaal has told his Manchester United players that the squad could look very different by the time the transfer window closes next week.

The new manager has taken his time assessing the players he inherited from David Moyes and, after making some big moves in the market, wants to accelerate the rate of change.

Van Gaal hinted that the legacy left by Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson before him has left a lot of work to do and, despite spending more than £130 million on Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo, the Dutchman has not finished with his overhaul.

He said: "I had a conversation with the players after lunch and I said, after this weekend, we shall maybe have another group.

"Players will go away and others will come in. We have to wait and see [who they are]. Now, I have judged all of the players. After [doing] that, I can take my measures because, of course, we know already in advance what players we want.

"Sometimes you can have them and sometimes not. It is dependable on the club, more the club than the players, because the players want to come."

United were said to have revived their interest in Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho and Juventus' Arturo Vidal, while players such as Daley Blind are still being heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford.

The latest departures have seen Wilfried Zaha go on loan to Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have reportedly just had a bid accepted for Tom Cleverley.

Van Gaal has repeatedly warned that he needs time - up to a year - to make the squad his own but after a bad start in which United have lost to Swansea in the Premier League and been humiliated by MK Dons in the Capital One Cup, there is a sense of urgency over the club's trading with the transfer window closing on Monday night.

Asked about the hand he had been dealt by previous United managers Moyes and Ferguson, Van Gaal said: "That is looking at the past and that is a question I don't want to answer.

"I want to show my respect to David Moyes and Mr Ferguson. We have to look at the future and that we are doing now by restoring and rebuilding a new team.

"That takes time. I'm sorry to say that for the fans, because they are amazing. I hope we fulfill their expectations but I said already that it's not done in one month, in spite of our wins against Real Madrid and Liverpool in America.

"We have to win, we have to give results and hopefully we will start at Burnley [on Saturday]".

Louis van Gaal has hinted that he was not impressed with the legacy left by David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson © PA Photos

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