Van Persie most likely to lose out

It is generally accepted that Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal simply cannot shoehorn all his stars. Something, or somebody, has to give.Photo by: Phil Noble/Reuters

It is generally accepted that Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal simply cannot shoehorn all his stars. Something, or somebody, has to give.Photo by: Phil Noble/Reuters

Published Sep 16, 2014

Share

In the reality game of fantasy football being played out at Manchester United this summer, it has become the £150million question: just which of his stars will Louis van Gaal drop when they are all fit to start?

The surge of optimism around Old Trafford during Sunday’s win over QPR was almost palpable, such was the transformation in Van Gaal’s team.

But it has also highlighted the embarrassment of riches he has accrued during a summer spent throwing money at the transfer market. Four goals to the good and he was still able to summon Radamel Falcao, Adnan Januzaj and Antonio Valencia off the bench.

It is not a problem that will concern Van Gaal. ‘It’s easy,’ was his response last week when asked how he will accommodate them all. Nor are the fans likely to complain about a sudden sprinkling of stardust after witnessing their club’s alarming decline into mediocrity.

But for the expensive squad now assembled at Old Trafford, there are bound to be a few bruised egos in the weeks ahead and nowhere more so than in attack, where the arrival of Angel di Maria and Falcao has upped the ante dramatically.

It is generally accepted that Van Gaal simply cannot shoehorn all his stars — Di Maria, Falcao, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata into the same team. Something, or somebody, has to give.

The man who appeared to be most under threat in the new order was Mata. Van Gaal was certainly under no obligation to select a £37.1m signing who arrived at the club four months before he took over and, with the new manager looking to inject more pace into the team it was suggested that the Spaniard might actually slow United down.

Four games into the new season, and it would appear that Mata has an integral part to play in the No 10 role. Deployed at the top of a midfield diamond on Sunday, he provided the link between midfield and attack and weighed in with United’s fourth goal. It was Mata’s eighth in 10 Premier League games, which is remarkable for a player brought in primarily to provide assists.

So who will be the odd man out? It is highly unlikely to be Di Maria, who showed just why United broke the British transfer record to sign him for £59.7m from Real Madrid, or Wayne Rooney, installed as captain by Van Gaal.

Falcao has yet to play a full 90 minutes since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last January, but it will be hard to omit the Colombia star when he is fully fit.That leaves Van Persie.

Amid the wave of euphoria on Sunday, it was overlooked that the Dutchman did not actually play very well. In fact, he has not played particularly well for United for some time.

The striker credited with tipping the title balance in United’s favour after he arrived from Arsenal two years ago faded under David Moyes last season. The highlight, a Champions League hat-trick against Olympiacos, was followed by news that he would miss six weeks with a knee injury.

It was not enough to prevent Van Persie playing for Van Gaal at the World Cup and scoring that spectacular diving header against Spain in the opening game, but doubts persist that he has fully recovered and his early-season form has done little to dispel them.

He posed little threat to QPR at Old Trafford, apart from when a moment of brilliance from Di Maria left him with a clear sight of goal, but he fired straight at Rob Green.

When Van Gaal was confirmed as United’s new manager, it was assumed that his fellow Dutchman would be an automatic first choice, if not for the captaincy as well.

Van Persie missed out on that honour and is now in serious danger of being squeezed out of the line-up. At 31, few would disagree his best years are behind him. Van Gaal is unlikely to shirk the issue, as Holland team-mate Daley Blind acknowledged after making an impressive debut.

‘He (the manager) is very honest to everybody — that can be frightening, but I like it,’ said Blind. ‘He knows what he wants and he knows his philosophy.’

Blind and Van Persie were pictured on Saturday night enjoying a Chinese meal with Falcao in Manchester. How much longer Van Persie can keep his place at United’s top table remains to be seen. – Daily Mail

Related Topics: