Has Louis van Gaal really wasted £250m?

 The deployment of Nick Powell and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson in the season’s biggest game certainly

suggests Van Gaal – injuries notwithstanding - has failed to address gaps in the squad.

But let’s take a closer look at United’s transfer dealings since Van Gaal took over to see if the £250m accusation really sticks.

First of all, it isn’t £250m. Transfermarkt tots up United’s spending under Van Gaal at £235m (the chief discrepancy being Anthony Martial’s add-on fees), while income from sold players brings the net spend to a ‘mere’ £129m.

Here is an player-by-player assessment of the ins and outs under Van Gaal: 

Anthony Martial – Forward (Monaco, £35m) – 7/10

He’s obviously United’s best attacker, but he just as obviously could do with not having to play every minute of every game. This for a player Van Gaal described as a present for his successor Ryan Giggs. On the bright side, it could be a while before Martial triggers that Ballon d’Or add-on clause.

Morgan Schneiderlin – Central Midfield (Southampton, £25m) – 7/10

The hardworking, unfussy midfielder United have needed for years. Does he need another defensive midfielder alongside him? Perhaps not. But Schneiderlin, while not cheap, has been a success. 

Memphis Depay – Winger (PSV, £19m) – 5/10

A tricky start to life at United for the Dutchman – but as with Martial, this has been exacerbated by the paucity of credible alternatives. At least he has potential.

Matteo Darmian – Right-back (Torino, £13m) – 6/10

Just OK. The position needed filling and Darmian does it to a decent standard. But he’s not a signing any team aspiring to be the best in the world should clap their hands about.

Bastian Schweinsteiger – Central Midfield (Bayern Munich, £6m) – 6/10

Certainly an improvement on what went before – but when Bayern Munich let you have a player because they don’t need him, the one thing you can be sure of is that he’s not as good as any midfielder Bayern Munich have. 

2014/15 - OUT

Angel Di Maria – Winger (PSG, £44m)
Javier Hernandez – Striker (Leverkusen, £8m)
Jonny Evans – Centre-back (West Brom, £6m)
Nani – Winger (Fenerbahce, £4m)
Robin van Persie - Striker (Fenerbahce, £4m)
Rafael - Right-back (Lyon, £2m)
Angelo Henriquez – Striker (Dinamo Zagreb, £1m)
Tom Cleverley – Midfield (Everton, free)

Total fees received (all players) - £71m

That’s quite a clearout and, Di Maria aside, most departures were for shockingly small amounts. By keeping the likes of Nani and Rafael, whom Van Gaal patently did not rate, in purgatory for a season too long, United wiped a huge amount of value from assets that age-wise should be in their prime. Still, with the possible exception of Hernandez (whose goodbye was long and fractious) there is nobody there that United will be kicking themselves about losing. 

Angel Di Maria – Winger (Real Madrid, £52m) – 4/10

It didn’t work out, but Di Maria was exactly the sort of signing United should be making. A genuinely world class talent at the peak of his powers. What role Van Gaal’s tactical rigidity played in Di Maria’s struggles is open to debate, but nonetheless this buy was – like Di Maria’s fellow Argentine Juan Sebastian Veron 13 years earlier – an admirable failure.

Luke Shaw – Left-back (Southampton, £26m) – 7/10

This deal was in place before Van Gaal’s arrival, but the manager deserves some credit here. After he called out Shaw’s lack of fitness, the player returned this season in great condition and superb form before his unfortunate broken leg. 

Ander Herrera – Central midfield (Athletic Bilbao, £25m) – 7/10

Also a done deal pre-Van Gaal, and it shows in the manager’s reluctance to give the Spaniard the run of games his creativity surely merits.

Marcos Rojo – Defender (Sporting, £14m) – 5/10

Has done nothing to suggest he is a top-level performer.

Falcao – Striker (Monaco, £5m loan) – 3/10

A catastrophe, but as with Di Maria you had to admire the ambition. A sad shadow of his former self, but it was worth a season loan just in case he recaptured his pre-injury form. 

2014/15 - OUT

Danny Welbeck – Forward (Arsenal, £14m)
Shinji Kagawa – Attacking midfield (Dortmund, £6m)
Alexander Buttner – Left-back (Dinamo Moscow, £4m)
Wilfried Zaha – Winger (Crystal Palace, £3m)
Bebe – Winger (Benfica, £2m)
Patrice Evra – Left-back (Juventus, £1m)

Welbeck was rarely a standout performer, but given the subsequent woes of Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao and Hernandez, it’s hard not to imagine some kind of role for him in the present side (Welbeck or Lingard?). Hard to argue with the other departures, but again some of those fees are pitiful, with United taking a huge loss on Zaha.

Total fees received (all players) - £35m

TOTAL TRANSFER SPEND - £235m

TOTAL NET TRANSFER SPEND - £129m

On a player-by-player level, United’s spending has not been too bad. Their chief failing lies in the paucity of attacking options given Wayne Rooney’s precipitate decline - the ill-fated (and much-derided) pursuit of Thomas Muller and Marco Reus is a blot on Ed Woodward’s copybook.

But Van Gaal does have good players at his disposal – all the more disappointing, then, that he has failed to mould them into anything resembling a coherent side. 

From http://www.eurosport.co.uk