Van Gaal promises surprise signing for start of season

The middle of the park and Man United's inexperienced defence were his main concerns. In January, Van Gaal explained that he was prepared to wait "maybe a year or more" to improve his selection.

With Robin van Persie and Ander Herrera gone and, the most expensive British signing, Angel Di Maria likely to move to PSV, Van Gaal has been having an interesting time in the summer sales with the purchase of forward Memphis Depay from PSV (£25m), right-back Darmian from Torino (£12.7m), midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich (£14.4m) and midfielder Morgan Scheiderlin from Southampton ((£25m). And the manager is not finished yet. He has a surprise in store. "The transfer period is open," he says. "You have to improve every year and keep them fresh."

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