Louis van Gaal has confirmed there are big changes coming at Manchester United now that the summer preseason tour in the United States is over. He was pretty clear that there’s going to be some cuts. A few players will be jettisoned. He wasn’t as clear about further additions, but he gave a good reason for not disclosing it.
As he said “the price goes up” if he talks about the players he wants to the media. Now that United are down with their preseason tour, having gone undefeated, and conquered their hated rivals Liverpool in the International Champions Cup Final, changes are coming.
Louis van Gaal will meet with all of his players individually this week to determine their future. He will do so having won a little bit of cash ($1,000,000) and silverware for the club. Yes, it was a preseason friendly, but there are no friendlies when it’s United versus Liverpool. And with LVG showing what he can do this summer, having been as impressive as possible this tour, it should make all of his players want to stay.
“I shall make judgements. After this tour I shall make judgements because I let all the players play and I know now more than before the tour,” he told reporters at the pre-Liverpool press conference.
“But also it’s a little bit soon to judge. In football you have to judge because you have to give a chance to the player to make a transfer when I see that his prospects to play aren’t so high.
“Then you have to say it. And you have to say it in advance.”
“When it is August 31, it is too late. So I shall say to the players what I think after this tour. To them, but not to you.”
Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Alexander Buttner and Bebe are all gone. Nani and Anderson are likely gone too. But the real question marks are Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa. The rumors swirling about Chicharito concern Inter Milan. (Or In-ter- My-Laan) as Louis van Gaal pronounces it. As for Kagawa, he LVG had some fun with a reporter in Michigan who was trying to get answers on that.
Have a listen (around the 4:05 mark):
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