Man Utd Boss Confirms He’ll Buy Attacker & Responds To Reported Ronaldo Interest

With the summer transfer window in full swing, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Louis van Gaal opens up about his transfer plans….

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has confirmed he plans to bring in a top class attacker this summer and responded to speculation linking him with a sensational move for Cristiano Ronaldo, according to the Express.

van Gaal has already been extremely busy in the transfer market this summer and wrapped-up his fifth new addition with the signing of Argentinean international goalkeeper Sergio Romero last night [via ManUtd.com].

However, only one of his signings so far, Memphis Depay, is considered an attacker and with Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao and possibly Angel Di Maria all leaving this summer, the Dutchman has been tipped to bring in at least one new forward over the coming weeks.

van Gaal has now been speaking to the media about his transfer plans and is quoted by the Express as saying that he needs to sign a top class creative attacker if the club wants to compete with the very best this coming campaign.

When asked if the team is now ‘his’ United, van Gaal told the paper:

“No. It is still not my Manchester United.

“Why? Because we have to look for more balance in the team and for more creativity. I want more players but it is not always possible.

“With [Morgan] Schneiderlin, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger, [Matteo] Darmian and Depay, we are better than last year. We have two players for every position now. But we have to be much better and we are looking for much more creativity.

“For example, Chelsea have [Eden] Hazard, Willian and Oscar and that is a lot of creativity. And you need that because you have to break down teams that park the bus – and next year there might be more teams who are parking the bus.

“We have [Wayne] Rooney, [Juan] Mata, Depay, [Ashley] Young, [Adnan] Januzaj, [James] Wilson and [Ander] Herrera. But we have to compare ourselves [to other clubs]. You can’t expect Young to be Hazard. Young had a fantastic season but he is not Neymar and we have to compete with that kind of class.

“Chelsea have Hazard, he can always make goals, he can always make an action and decide a goal. Manchester City have [Sergio] Aguero, it’s the same type. Barcelona have [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and [Luis] Suarez. We, as Manchester United, have to compete with these clubs. So we also have to look for that kind of players.”

If United do lose Di Maria to PSG then it’s safe to say they certainly need at least one new attacker and someone like Cristiano Ronaldo would fit the bill perfectly.

The Manchester Evening News reported last week that United were trying to pull off a sensational deal to lure Ronaldo back to Old Trafford this summer with the Portuguese international understood to be frustrated with life at the Bernabeu.

However, while van Gaal says Ronaldo may be open to the idea of moving back to Manchester, the transfer isn’t realistic due to the finances that would be involved. He continued:

“He [Ronaldo] may come, but it is not possible.

“Yes, of course, the fans would love it and so would I. But that’s not possible. Why not? Because you have his club Real Madrid, you have Ronaldo and then you have Manchester United and how much Manchester United want to spend.

“Of course, we are still looking. When it is possible to buy players from that level at a reasonable price then we shall do that because they can contribute and make us better.”

Obviously Ronaldo would be a major coup but as van Gaal points out, his signing is almost impossible due to the numbers that it would take to persuade Madrid into selling so I think the Dutchman is going to have to look elsewhere for his new attacker.

The Daily Mail reported over the weekend that United have stepped-up their interest in Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez and that’s a deal that will be far easier to execute as he has a reasonable buy-out clause and should be open to leaving the Nou Camp as he’s struggling to get regular game-time.

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Pedro isn’t on the same level as someone like Ronaldo, but few are, and the 27-year-old would be an excellent replacement for Di Maria is he heads off to France.

We’ll have to see how things develop but it sounds like it’s going to be an exciting few weeks at Old Trafford with van Gaal still looking to do further business before the window slams shut.