Van Gaal says he trusts Woodward with club transfers

But Louis van Gaal missed out on both players in what has been a disastrous few days for the Red Devils, with Spain worldwide Pedro choosing Chelsea and Manchester City beating their fierce local rivals to sign Argentina defender Otamendi.

Senior sources at Old Trafford insisted this week that it was Van Gaal, not Pedro, who pulled the plug on United’s pursuit of the forward and the United boss seemed to corroborate that idea on Friday.

“What we are doing is guiding a process”.

‘Maybe Manchester United fell asleep, ‘ Sanz told Radio Club Tenerife.

“It took them a little while longer [to reach the agreement with the agency] with us, but essentially it was as fast as a lightning bolt”.

A section of Manchester United fan base criticized Woodward, who was reportedly in Barcelona as per the report by Telegraph, on Monday, to try and negotiate a deal. It was a whirlwind.

“He (Mourinho) is one of the main reasons why I’m here”.

They could have said, “right, Barcelona want €30million and won’t budge, so we’ll pay it. We’ll pay it upfront because we want you”.

“We can not say what we want”. I have the responsibility of protecting the interest of the club, of my players, and I can not say too much. Yes, I cannot lie. I answer the question and there’s a difference. Then you put it in another perspective and then you say “okay he is coming to Manchester United“. “It’s a magnificent sign of ambition that he wants to play every game“, said Mourinho at his pre-match press conference on 21 August.

Woodward has been getting a lot of criticism over not completing the Pedro deal, which has led to Van Gaal not being very happy over this, and said that Woodward has proven he is great on transfers.

“He won everything playing with all these stars but he wants more and I’m really happy with that”. That is why I understand the question (of whether he fits the club’s profile).

The Dutchman would not comment on speculation linking United with Southampton’s Senegal forward Sadio Mane, saying that with a squad of 28 players he was not under any pressure to make new signings. “I don’t want to interfere. Ed Woodward is doing these things and he does them very well”, Van Gaal said.