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Live Coverage: Louis van Gaal's weekly Manchester United press conference

Follow Sports Mole's live coverage of Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's press conference ahead of his side's match against Newcastle United.
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Louis van Gaal has refused to comment on the Pedro transfer following the Barcelona winger's move to Chelsea after being linked with Manchester United.

The manager also confirmed that he will reassess his goalkeeper situation at the end of the transfer window, while Bastian Schweinsteiger could start against Newcastle United this weekend.

His side have taken maximum points from their first two fixtures of the season.

Read what else the manager had to say below.


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Good morning! Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will be speaking to the media shortly as he prepares his side for the visit of Newcastle United tomorrow lunchtime. His side are one of just four teams in the top flight that have won their opening two fixtures.

It's been a busy week for Van Gaal's side. Having beaten Aston Villa at Villa Park last Friday night, Man Utd returned to action in the Champions League, beating Club Brugge 3-1 in the first leg of their playoff tie.

The manager has already had a quick word with the club's TV channel before going in for his press conference, confirming that Phil Jones is the only player definitely ruled out as he continues to recover from a mild case of thrombosis. However, he admits that Bastian Schweinsteiger may be ready to make his first league start.

It's been another busy week of transfer rumours for the club. United have been linked with Pedro all summer, but the now-former Barcelona man has joined Chelsea instead. That move resulted in Sadio Mane being linked with Old Trafford, but Southampton have insisted that the winger is not for sale.

On Twitter, the club has been reminding fans of their previous meetings with Newcastle, including a 6-0 victory in 2008, which saw Cristiano Ronaldo score his only hat-trick during his spell at United:


Don't forget, we'll have live coverage of this match from an hour before kickoff, as well as all the team news, post-match reaction, match analysis and loads more, so make sure you're here again tomorrow to see if United make it three wins in a row at the start of the season.

If you want to catch up on any of the transfer stories relating to Man Utd from the last few days, you can find all the links on the Transfer Talk page.

Right then, the manager is ready to speak, so let's see what's up for discussion this week.

Van Gaal clearly isn't keen to talk about what happened with the Pedro transfer. He's asked to explain United's side of the move he simply replies: "No."

Van Gaal is pushed for more, and insists: "I cannot lie, he did fit the profile, but I never said I was interested. [The media] said I was interested."

Van Gaal remains cagey when asked more generally about transfers, replying: "You have to wait and see. There's no pressure on me, we have 28 players."

David de Gea has been left out of the squad while he's been the subject of transfer speculation, and it looks like it will be the same this weekend, as Van Gaal tells reporters: "We shall evaluate [the goalkeeper situation] the first of September."

Van Gaal insists that he is working closely with Ed Woodward on the transfers: "I have the idea you want to separate Ed Woodward with me. Never, because every day I am updates by him, and I trust him."

Van Gaal is asked about the reports linking Sadio Mane to the club, but isn't giving anything away: "I cannot answer. I don't want to interfere. Ed Woodward is doing that."

Woodward's ears will be burning as Van Gaal adds: "I don't think [the fans] have to doubt Ed Woodward because he has proven already for many, many years he is the right person at the right spot."

Van Gaal continues to be pressed on Pedro, and he's not happy as he reiterates: "I cannot answer these questions, you know that. I have said it before that what we are doing is a process. In that process we make decisions and I think when we wanted Pedro it was not a problem. That is because there was a clause in his contract, so it was the easiest transfer. You can write what you want, but we cannot say what we want, that it the difference."

And on that note, Van Gaal is done. Clearly unhappy with the tone of the press conference this morning, Van Gaal kept his answers short and to the point. Having spent most of his time talking about the Pedro situation, there wasn't much on Van Gaal's thoughts ahead of the match, aside from information on his team news.

So, make sure you join us again in a little over 24 hours for the start of our build-up ahead of Manchester United's match against Newcastle United. Until then, thanks for joining me this morning. Goodbye.

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Louis van Gaal, manager of Manchester United celebrates victory with Chris Smalling after the UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round Play Off First Leg match between Manchester United and Club Brugge at Old Trafford on August 18, 2015
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