EPL: Van Gaal expects Stootman to join Man United

Louis van Gaal has refused to rule out making a bid for Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman.

The new Manchester United manager coached Strootman in his role as Netherlands boss and would have taken him to the World Cup but for a cruciate ligament injury suffered in March.

Strootman is still sidelined by that knee injury, and Roma boss Rudi Garcia said on Friday he expects the 24-year-old to remain in Italy this season.

But, ahead of United's friendly with Roma in the United States, van Gaal, who has been linked with a number of high-profile midfielders, would not rule out moving for the player in the future.

"We have to wait and see how he comes back. It's not so easy to come back out of an injury, so we'll wait and see."

Louis van Gaal on Kevin Strootman

He said: "I never say anything about individual players - it's my vision that we have to be about the team and not individual players.

"Other players, not at Manchester United, I can't judge - I am not there. Strootman I can judge, but he has been injured for more than six months.

"We have to wait and see how he comes back. It's not so easy to come back out of an injury, so we'll wait and see."

Van Gaal also kept his counsel when asked for his reaction to comments from Jose Mourinho about new United left-back Luke Shaw.

Chelsea were linked with Shaw before his £27m move to Old Trafford, and Mourinho said: "If we pay to a 19-year-old boy what we were being asked for, to sign Luke Shaw, we are dead.

"We would have killed our stability with financial fair play and killed the stability in our dressing room."

Van Gaal, who worked above Mourinho at Barcelona, said: "I don't think I have to discuss things in the media, it's better to discuss it with Jose."