Louis van Gaal defended Manchester United’s transfer negotiations regarding David de Gea after his side’s 3-2 win over Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Spanish goalkeeper made an instinctive save from a Jose Fonte header to ensure Manchester United maintained a 2-1 lead with half an hour of the match remaining.
Van Gaal praised the save and said it showed why United were so keen to not let the player leave for Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.
He told Sky Sports: “He is the goalkeeper to do that. Also Sergio Romero has saved us in games, now David de Gea did that with a remarkable save from a header from Fonte.
“It was fantastic, therefore we are very happy he shall stay with us. That’s why we were very difficult in the transfer period for Real Madrid. It is not for nothing.”
Manchester United sit just two points behind Manchester City in second place in the Premier League, but Van Gaal insists it is too early to talk about his side winning the title.
David de Gea makes a magnificent save from a Jose Fonte header
“Of course, we shall always strive for it, we also did last year, but you can’t expect from a team in transition already a title, but when we are close we shall grab it.
“For the first time, we controlled the match better, we played more to kill the game. After the Champions League match against PSV you could see they were more tired in the last 15 minutes.
“The players are doing it, they are performing. I have to say it was also a fantastic from Martial and Depay.”
Anthony Martial put on a man-of-the-match display against Southampton and Van Gaal admits he is surprised that he has produced such high levels of performance so early on in his Manchester United career.
“He is always an attacking point for a lot of players, and that I like in him. He is always running in behind and that I like in him. He keeps the ball. He is very important for us now, already.
“He has the talent to do it but the Premier League is a lot of rhythm and a lot of physical influence of the defenders, but he is also a strong guy. We can expect more consistency than I had expected, but you never know, we are only three games [in].”
Source:Skysports
