LOUIS VAN GAAL admits that he might be forced into the transfer market in January to buy a specialist left-back.
And that could mean a shock return to the Premier League for former Chelsea and England star Ashley Cole.
Cole, who hasn’t played for Roma this season, came under pressure from the Italian club in August to cut short his two-year contract but he insisted on staying put.
He was at Old Trafford last weekend, playing in David Beckham’s Unicef game and would be a perfect short-term solution to a problem Van Gaal admits he didn’t anticipate.
The horrific double leg-break sustained by Luke Shaw in the Champions League match in Eindhoven in September has left the Manchester United boss having to use utility man Daley Blind, centre-back Marcos Rojo or winger Ashley Young in the position.
Van Gaal sees Shaw as United’s left-back for many years to come and wouldn’t necessarily want to spend heavily on replacement. Cole’s experience and immediate availability makes him an attractive option.
Van Gaal concedes: “I was convinced that Luke would have a very good season and because of that I didn’t buy a second player for left-back.
“I thought he would play more of less every game. He was the main player for that position and it was a big blow so maybe we have to buy a left-back in January.”
United face PSV again on Wednesday and Hector Moreno, the Mexican centre-back whose tackle caused Shaw’s injury, is likely to get a rough reception.
Even though Shaw’s absence could have serious repercussions for United’s season, Van Gaal doesn’t believe Moreno deliberately injured his player.
“It was a lousy tackle, it was reckless, but I don’t think he did it on purpose,” he says.
“Moreno apologised and Luke has shown a fantastic positive attitude towards him.
“His rehabilitation is going well. In the beginning the healing goes very fast, but then it slows down. That’s when you need a very good mental character to continue.
“I don’t know if he will play again this season because I can’t know the speed of the healing.”
United will qualify for the knockout stages if they beat PSV. If they don’t, they would need something from the final game in Wolfsburg, a scenario Van Gaal is keen to avoid.
“We need to win all our home matches,” he says. “We are on schedule. Now it’s very important to win this one.
“But it won’t be easy because PSV have already beaten us and Wolfsburg, who are a very good team.”
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