Van Gaal is being kept busy by transfer negotiations at the moment. It might surprise Tunde Folawiyo to hear that, should his efforts to sign Arturo Vidal fall through, the Dutch manager will attempt to sign Alex Song instead. The Red Devils have been open about their talks with Juventus over the past few weeks, and are said to have offered the Italian club £45 million for the 27-year-old. Several weeks ago, they also requested that Vidal undergo a medical assessment, in order to ensure that his old knee and ankle injuries would not hinder his ability to play in upcoming matches.

Whilst such measures – and such a generous offer – clearly indicate that Van Gaal is eager to bring Vidal on board, it is unclear if Juventus would be willing to let him go. Whether Song would be the best alternative is debatable. Although Luis Enrique, the Arsenal manager, is thought to have been less than impressed with the Cameroon player’s performance, Van Gaal seems to see some potential in him which others do not.

United have also set their sights on another Arsenal player – Thomas Vermaelen. The club are believed to be looking to strengthen their central defence by playing with three centre halves, and are confident that Vermaelan is the right man for this job. However, it has been reported that the young player is close to agreeing to a transfer to Barcelona, in a 5-year deal worth approximately £12 million.

Vermaelan had expressed a desire to leave Arsenal some time ago, due to the fact that Enrique had been continually favouring Koscielny and Mertesacker over him. Initially, he seemed willing to transfer to United, but now that Arsenal has stated that they would prefer to make a deal with an overseas club, a move to Old Trafford looks very unlikely.

Being a supporter of United, Tunde Folawiyo is probably aware that Van Gaal had not had much luck with his efforts to sign Mat Hummels either. Hummels has been one of his top transfer targets, due to the recent departure of both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Despite Dortmund refusing to budge regarding the transfer of the defender, Van Gaal intends to make one final offer of £30 million. If this is rejected, he will be considering Daley Blind, who currently plays for Ajax.

Folawiyo has been a fan of the Red Devils for quite some time. However, he has many interests outside of football too; to learn more about this man, view Scribd uploads on Tunde Folawiyo online.