Van Gaal is making Roy Hodgson’s job more difficult

LOUIS VAN GAAL sat in front of the media last week and said with a straight face: “I am not a manager who wants to buy players. I want to develop players.”

Within 24 hours he’d bought Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian at a total cost of £50.7m.

He’d already forked out £25m on Memphis Depay to add to last summer’s £145.5m expenditure on Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind.

That’s nine players in less than 12 months for £221.2m, all of them ready-made, established internationalists. And more will come.

For a man who doesn’t like buying players, he’s doing a fair impersonation of someone who does. He seems to have left the development work to others.

There’s been a sea change in transfer policy at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, when the priority was indeed to buy potential and bring it out.

Whatever Van Gaal achieves, he can’t now claim it’s down to his astute coaching.

United bought their way back into the Champions League. If they lift a trophy this season, they will have bought that, too.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but let’s not pretend it’s got anything to do with philosophies and tactics.

If David Moyes had been allowed to sign nine internationalists in a year instead of just two, maybe he’d still be manager.

The Dutchman’s transfer activities typify those of a big-name European coach-for-hire, who wants to embellish his CV with instant success.

And, again typically, eight out of nine buys are foreign. Add free transfer Victor Valdez and loanee Rademal Falcao, plus Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini from the Moyes era, and 12 of United’s last 13 acquisitions have not been English.

Roy Hodgson used to be able to rely on United to provide the core of his squad. Now all but skipper Wayne Rooney are threatened by newcomers.

Michael Carrick is up against Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin, Matteo will stop either Chris Smalling or Phil Jones playing right-back and Depay’s arrival will affect both Ashley Young and Shaw, with Blind the likely left-back.

Last season Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley were squeezed out. Others could follow as more galacticos arrive.

It’s not Van Gaal’s business to provide England with players.

Nevertheless, Hodgson will feel that winning Euro 2016 has just been made a whole lot harder.