Ahead of the FA Cup Semis, Manchester United’s manager spoke on team news and his selection dilemma.
Manchester United have one last opportunity to secure a piece of silverware this season, with the meeting against Everton on Saturday the penultimate test.
The Red Devils go into the FA Cup Semi-Final in good form, winners of their last three matches with just one goal conceded. They progressed to the semis via a 2-1 victory against West Ham in the quarterfinal replay, then beat Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in the Premier League with two clean sheets.
The Dutchman should also have a full squad of healthy players to choose from, apart from the long term injuries to Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Speaking to MUTV ahead of Thursday’s presser, Van Gaal said:
"“[The squad is] Nearly fit. Only Shaw and Schweinsteiger are unable to play and maybe Januzaj because he didn’t play yet in the second team. But we have a full squad of fit players.”"
The English left-back is hopeful he can return before the end of this season, though it would probably only be in time for the FA Cup Final if United were to make it that far. Schweinsteiger’s season is surely finished, while Adnan Januzaj has barely been a part of Van Gaal’s plans this campaign. As such, there are no new noteworthy injuries to report, meaning there could be a selection dilemma on hand for the manager.
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It’s a different sort of problem for a team that has generally been full of injuries this season. There is much more pressure on Van Gaal to select the right team, including decisions of starting younger players over the more experienced veterans.
On the selection conundrum, the 64-year-old said, “Everyone wants to play in a semi-final. I must select 18 players and I have 24 who are fit, so I have to disappoint six of them.” Of course, that doesn’t include the players who fail to make it off the bench in the actual match.
One player who is almost certain to make the trip is Timothy Fosu-Mensah, the highly rated defensive prospect who emerged this season from the Manchester United academy. Though the 18-year-old has primarily featured as a central or wide defender in the first team this season, Van Gaal refused to rule out a future in the midfield.
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During the presser, the manager told reporters:
"“It is dependable on vacancies in your squad. Players in my squad are playing in different positions than what they are used to in their former careers. When there is a vacancy and you think a young player has the quality to play there, you give him the chance and he takes it.”"
His latest comment on Fosu-Mensah’s preferred position is the continuation of his already firmly state opinion, that the team comes first and vacancies need to be filled. Fortunately, the versatile Dutch youth international still has plenty of time to experiment in different positions, and his technical ability would make a move to the midfield possible.
Obviously that move won’t happen for the Everton match; he’s far more likely to start on either side of Daley Blind or Chris Smalling in defense. Still, with the team at full strength and the likes of Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, etc. all pushing for playing time, Van Gaal will need to decide if he should start Fosu-Mensah over the older players.
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Such a decision, and the others like it across the pitch, will have major impacts on the team’s FA Cup success and ultimately Van Gaal’s chances of staying at Manchester United another season.