‘Man United guaranteed top four under Louis van Gaal’

Louis van Gaal is guaranteed to lead Manchester United to a top-four finish in his first season at Old Trafford, according to Raymond Verheijen.

The 62-year-old Netherlands head coach signed a three-year deal with the 13-time Premier League champions after agreeing to to become the new United manager in May.

They’re almost guaranteed a Champions League place

Raymond Verheijen

Van Gaal, who will take up his role after the World Cup, has already snapped up Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera and Southampton left-back Luke Shaw.

And Verheijen, who was formally part of Van Gaal’s youth set up in Holland, is tipping United to mount an unlike Premier League title challenge.

“If you look at what happened when he went to Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he implemented a big cultural change and won the title in his first season,” Verheijen told TalkSport.

“That’s what you always see with Van Gaal. In the first part of the season his teams struggle a little bit, because of the changes, but in the second part of the season, they go on and win the title.

“Manchester United’s relatively easy first six games will help him with all the changes he’s trying to make. They’re almost guaranteed a Champions League place.”