Five things Van Gaal must now do at Manchester United

What now for Falcao?
Radamel Falcao arguably enjoyed one of his best performances in a Manchester United shirt against Stoke before surprisingly being taken off just past the hour.
The Colombian has struggled to convince Louis van Gaal since his arrival on loan from Monaco in the summer and more question marks will be raised after the Dutchman’s surprise decision to take him off at the Britannia Stadium for Ander Herrera.
With three points still up for grabs, Falcao was taken off just past the hour mark despite being United’s most dangerous attacking player in the contest, with no apparent injury the reason for his removal.
Falcao showed his predatory skills to drag United level with a superb finish from Michael Carrick’s flick on after a Wayne Rooney corner, with the goal coming very much against the run of play.
It was his third goal for United and there were encouraging signs that Falcao was beginning to form an understanding with strike partner Robin van Persie.
Van Gaal, who had claimed earlier this season that Falcao might have to get used to being on the bench, has accommodated the striker in his line-up in recent weeks by dropping Wayne Rooney into a midfield role and it appeared the switch has benefited United over their current 10-game unbeaten run.
The Dutchman was very critical of the number of games scheduled over the Christmas period and maybe he felt it was best not to force Falcao to play another 90 minutes in what was United’s third game in six days.
However, Falcao’s reaction to being taken off told its own story as he was shocked to be replaced and it seems the South American still has a lot to do to convince Van Gaal he should be one of the first names on his team sheet.



Trouble at the back…
Manchester United’s failure to significantly bolster their defence during the summer transfer window continues to cost them valuable points.
Van Gaal has not had a settled back line due to injuries, with several youngsters like Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett being thrown in at the deep end.
Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw were brought in last summer, but the void left by the departures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic is yet to be filled.
United again started with a back three against Stoke and for the majority of the game they were all at sea as they struggled to cope with the pace of Mame Diouf and the aerial dominance of Peter Crouch.
Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans are all good defenders in their own right, but they do not command a defence in the way Vidic and Ferdinand did in their pomp.
A host of names have been linked with moves to United, including Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund, and if United are to continue to make improvements under Van Gaal they need to address their defensive problems.
Opposition sides have recognised all season that you can get at this current United backline and it will take some major investment and coaching on the training pitch to get things right.

Kevin Strootman..

To go about helping solve United’s defensive issues would be to bring in long-term target Kevin Stootman.
Van Gaal is a huge admirer of his fellow Dutchman and is thought to have made him one of his top targets from the day he took over at Old Trafford.
Strootman, who worked with van Gaal with the Dutch national team, is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe and would add a lot to the current United side.
Strootman seems to have all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League and the athletic midfielder would help provide a shield in front of United’s overworked defence.
United were prevented from making a move for Strootman during the summer as the midfielder was working his way back from a serious knee injury.
Strootman is now working his way back to full fitness after recently returning to action, and United scouts and Van Gaal have been keeping a close eye on his progress.
However, luring Strootman away from Roma may prove a problem for United and Van Gaal as the capital-based side are adamant the former PSV Eindhoven is not for sale and is going nowhere in January.
It seems almost certain that United will have to wait in the summer before they make another move to prise Strootman away from Roma and that could work for both sides as it give the midfielder time to work his way back to full fitness and allow Roma time to find a replacement.

David De Gea…
Manchester United fans are probably anxiously waiting to see if Van Gaal brings in any new faces at Old Trafford in the January transfer window, but the best piece of business he could do would be to tie down David De Gea to a new deal.
De Gea has been United’s best player by a long way this season and his importance to United cannot be underestimated.
Without the intervention of De Gea this season it is concieveable to think that United not be anywhere near the top four, never mind in third place at is stands.
Playing in front of a much-changed back line for most of the season, the Spaniard has been the one consistent in the United side with a number of eye-catching performances.
It has been quite a transformation by De Gea from the player who first arrived at United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 for around £18 million, with that fee now looking a bargain.
De Gea is entering the final 18 months of his contract and the worry is that they have yet to agree terms on a new deal despite opening talks a while back.
United should be planning to break the bank to keep De Gea as he has established himself as key component in van Gaal’s masterplan.
Rumours of a move to Real Madrid refuse to go away with the Spanish side in the market for a long-term replacement for Iker Casillas, but United cannot afford to lose De Gea if they want to re-establish themselves back among Europe’s elite.

The walking wounded…

Van Gaal has endured a terrible injury record this season, with a number of key performers missing for long periods of the campaign.
Some of United’s defensive issues can be put down to not having a regular backline to choose from due to an injury list which remains long.
Van Gaal has only named the same line-up in successive games once this year and that was in the recent matches against Newcastle and Tottenham.
Luke Shaw has looked promising at times since his arrival in the summer from Southampton, but his debut campaign has been interrupted by injury.
Any side in the world would miss Angel Di Maria and the Argentine’s presence has been sorely missed in recent games away from home where United have dropped points to Aston Villa, Tottenham and Stoke.
Di Maria is such a world-class talent he could have proved the difference between one point and three on numerous occasions.
And the casualty list has been added to after the draw at Stoke with Ashley Young, who has been performing well at wing-back, forced off with an apparent hamstring injury.
Van Gaal has been criticised in some quarters for his intensive training regime, but to blame the spate of injuries on the Dutchman would be unfair.
There is no doubt that if United can get all their injured players back to fitness and are able to field their strongest side they are a match for anyone in the Premier League and van Gaal will be hoping 2015 brings more luck on the injury front for his overworked physio department.