Hernandez: Van Gaal told me I had a 1% chance of playing

Louis van Gaal is coming under increasing pressure at Manchester United with the Dutchman’s decisions on transfers receiving particular scrutiny.

While it was always going to be hard for United to achieve great success in the years following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, it is certainly understandable as to why people are questioning whether van Gaal is the right man for the job.

Guillermo Varela, 22, and with three United career appearances to his name, and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, 18, and with 104 Premier League minutes under his belt, have been favoured over the 30-year-old in recent fixtures.

According to Marca, he told Movistar+ the following: “I spoke with Van Gaal and he said that I only had a 1% chance of playing in my position, so I headed to Bayer”.

Since departing for Bayer Leverkusen in a £7m deal Hernandez has been in sensational form, scoring 19 goals for club and country.

Mexico star Hernandez has scored 15 goals in his last 12 games for Leverkusen, with United managing just 10 in the same period.

At a time where United are looking particularly weak up front, with Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial between them yielding 13 goals – four less than what Hernandez has managed on his own – the Mexican could have been a key player for the Red Devils this season.

United got its money’s worth out of him in 2012-13 alone, and while he has still netted six goals this term for his new club in all competitions it is hard to make a case for the 2015-16 Van Persie making an impact at Old Trafford. “I had an incredible start, full of opportunities, although those opportunities dwindled over time and things took a turn for the worse”, Hernandez is reported by newspapers in Spain to have said in a TV interview.

“I’m so grateful to Ferguson”. I think he is the best manager in history.

The player has been quizzed about his exit from United and revealed that Van Gaal didn’t see a place for him in his squad and told him he could depart.