How Louis van Gaal has finally sorted out this Manchester United squad

Watching Manchester United lose to PSV in the week would have left alarm bells ringing for some.

This was, after all, not even a top tier opponent and United would have been expected to win.

But the injury to Luke Shaw was certainly a mitigating factor – the players couldn’t help but be affected by the horrific double leg fracture that the 20 year old sustained in the 15th minute of the game – and The Reds can count themselves unlucky to have lost this one.

In general we feel that Louis van Gaal has done a great job in the market. He has completely transformed this squad and, while there are still more reforms to come, most would argue that this new squad is stronger than the one which he inherited.

The average age has come down drastically with the likes of Shaw (20), Memphis (21) and Martial (19) likely to spearhead this new team.

And Manchester United’s transfer business has been very canny overall.

Of his 11 signings so far, only Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao have been outright failures.

Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay, Anthony Martial and Morgan Schneiderlin all look like winners and are all in their mid-twenties, with years left at the top of the sport.

And Bastian Schweinsteiger has brought the experience required to guide this younger crop though the formative stages of their Manchester United careers.

The results are yet to show real consistency.

But we have little doubt that the United manager has stopped the rot and added real quality to this squad.

With a couple more signings likely in January, we feel that it’s only a matter of time before Manchester United are challenging for top honours again.