Victor Valdes Deal a Bonus for Man United but a Risk for Former Barca Goalkeeper

Louis van Gaal showed this summer that he's in the business of signing good players. Victor Valdes would just be another one.

Speaking at his press conference on Friday, the Dutchman refused to rule out the possibility that he might offer the former Barcelona goalkeeper a permanent deal at Old Trafford.

In quotes carried by the Manchester Evening News, Van Gaal said, at the moment, he's simply lending a helping hand to one of his former players.

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It is not a surprise because I have done it with lots of players. I have a relationship with a lot of them. I gave Ronald de Boer and Edgar Davids training possibilities in the past. Valdes is one of these players.

Robin van Persie also. When he played for me in the Dutch squad, I allowed him to use our medical department to keep fit for the World Cup. I wasn't the manager of United at the time, so I have always done it.

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The last seven months of Valdes' career have been disrupted by the knee ligament injury he suffered playing for Barcelona against Celta Vigo in March. It caused him to miss the World Cup in Brazil, and it made what should have been the simple task of finding a new club rather more difficult.

He arrived at Carrington this week to continue his recovery. But if there's a will on both sides to make the agreement more formal, then you imagine there won't be too many obstacles.

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It's easy to see why Van Gaal would want Valdes in his squad. But it's more difficult to understand why Valdes would want to sign for United.

Van Gaal gets another good goalkeeper. A player who would add genuine competition for David de Gea. 

De Gea has been impressive so far this season but competition for places never hurt anyone. At the very least, it would keep De Gea on his toes.

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But it's difficult to see what Valdes gets out of it. At 32 years old, he should be looking for regular football. 

He's too good, and he's been too successful, to be content sitting on the bench until be has to hang up his gloves. Although, that didn't stop Pepe Reina joining Bayern Munich when he left Liverpool

If Valdes signed for United tomorrow, he would start as De Gea's understudy. And with just one game a week until the end of the season, he wouldn't get that many opportunities to force his way into the team. It's not that often you need to rest a goalkeeper.

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The chance to sign Valdes will be attractive to Van Gaal, who's trying to build the strongest squad possible at Old Trafford. He would gain a dependable No. 2, while maybe pushing his current first-choice, De Gea, to become even better. 

But Valdes could end up sacrificing first-team football in the final years of his career. You wouldn't think that was what he had in mind when he announced his decision to leave Barcelona.