If the rumour mill is to be believed, the appointment of Louis Van Gaal is a formality that has only not been confirmed officially because the club will not make a formal announcement until after the end of the Premier League season. Perhaps because of Giggs standing with United fans, and in order to give the player, and now coach, a fitting farewell, the club have delayed their expected announcement for another few days at least, with the final game of the season set for this Sunday. The man himself, who has long been the favourite to take over from David Moyes, is definitely interested in the role, telling the BBC that he wants the job:
"I would love the job. I hope that I shall be the one. It's the biggest club in the world and it's a fantastic challenge."
It seems likely that the club will get their man - should they be looking to offer him the permanent position, rather than giving Ryan Giggs a shot at one of the biggest jobs in the world - and when the announcement does come, Van Gaal will immediately be presented with one of the most daunting tasks any manager of a self-styled Top Four club has faced for a long time. His potential side are currently outside of European places, facing a season without Champions League football (an unthinkable outcome just a season after winning the league) and there is a lot to be done to rebuild the side. At the minute there are too many players at United who are not good enough for a title-challenging team, and as well as cutting away the dead wood, Van Gaal needs to bring in his own players, including those he knows he can depend on from former jobs. So with that in mind, we're looking at ten of the most likely candidates that Van Gaal should be looking at from the pool of players he has already worked with.
