The Louis van Gaal effect; potential Manchester United XI come August

Any way you slice it, Louis van Gaal was always going to bring headlines when Manchester United confirmed him as the successor to the disastrous reign of David Moyes.  The question was, what sort of headlines would he bring?  The Dutchman has a history of questionable actions on his managerial dossier, but despite that, there are few greater tactical minds in the game, and we are seeing that come to fruition this summer in Brazil for the Netherlands.

Despite his eccentricities, van Gaal is known for maintaining a close relationship with his players, something that United will welcome back to the club again.

Many questioned the nature of the side coming into the tournament – the reliance on a very international inexperienced back line, the 5-3-2 experiment, Robben as a striker alongside Robin van Persie and the list could go on.  But, as we have all seen, the Dutch have been absolutely brilliant at the tournament thus far, in no way more than their 10 goals in the group stage.  This is what Manchester United can look forward to.  Vibrant attacking football with a manager that knows how to get the best out of what he has at his disposal.

With the completed signings of Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw, Van Gaal is not finished yet.  Rumors of moves for a host of players are circulating, with it being reported that Ed Woodward has been in contact with LvG on a daily basis, and that more transfers are sure to happen.  Given that knowledge, here is the potential starting XI that United fans could well see at Old Trafford on August 16th.