van Gaal On Ramos Interest + Update On His Striker Pursuit

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal gives an update on his transfer dealings…

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has hinted that he’s interested in signing Sergio Ramos this summer and confirmed he’s working on signing a striker – but insists it’s not any of the names being linked in the media, according to the Mirror.

van Gaal has already been extremely busy in the transfer market this summer with four new faces arriving in big-money deals but a striker is still expected to come in following the sale of Robin van Persie.

Many names have been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent weeks with German outlet Sport1 claiming yesterday that United had tabled a £70m offer for Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller while talkSPORT suggest the Red Devils are in pole position to sign Barcelona forward Pedro.

However, while van Gaal reiterated that he’s looking to sign a new front-man this summer, he insists that his target isn’t any of the names currently being linked in the media.

Speaking to the Mirror at his pre-match press conference ahead of United’s game against San Jose Earthquakes, van Gaal said:

“It’s not the striker that the media has written. But you have to wait and see. The transfer period is open until August or September 2.”

Obviously van Gaal’s comments have led to debate among fans on social media as to who this mystery striker target could be. I’m sure the speculation will continue in the newspapers over the coming weeks but we’ll have to wait and see if the Dutchman is successful in his pursuit.

There’s no doubt United need to bring in another striker after van Persie’s exit and the club rejecting the chance to sign Radamel Falcao on a permanent basis. If they want to win the Premier League, Wayne Rooney is going to need some support but for now van Gaal is keeping his cards close to his chest.

The Dutch boss was, however, a little more forthcoming when quizzed about a potential swap deal involving Sergio Ramos and David De Gea. The BBC are one of several outlets who suggest that United are refusing to sell De Gea to Madrid unless they get Ramos as part of the deal and van Gaal refused to deny these claims.

“I cannot talk about these rumours,”

“I have said already it’s a process and maybe Mr Ramos is in the process, you never know.” van Gaal is quoted as saying by the Mirror

It’s commendable that United are playing hard ball with Madrid and demanding Ramos in exchange for De Gea but I’m still not convinced they’ll end up getting the defender. Both players may want the moves but the big difference is that Ramos still has two years left on his deal while De Gea is now in his final year, so Madrid are in no immediate rush to sell.

READ MORE –> Man Utd transfer news

I think the most likely outcome will be that De Gea stays at United to see-out the final year of his deal before joining Madrid on a free transfer next summer, while Ramos will stay in Spain and probably end up signing a new contract.

That’s hardly the ideal scenario for United but at least they’ll get another season out of De Gea. And who knows, perhaps they can convince him to sign a new deal over the next 12 months?