Manchester United Transfer News: Louis van Gaal Sparks Radamel Falcao Doubt

Louis van Gaal is "not interested" if Radamel Falcao is growing frustrated by his lack of fitness and has told the player to "follow [his] philosophy" if he is to be successful at Manchester United.

The Dutch boss was questioned about Falcao ahead of United's trip to Southampton. Van Gaal underlined that, despite a potentially massive fee and the expectation that goes with it, the on-loan striker will be treated like anyone else in his squad.

Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail believes the boss is showing a "growing impatience" when discussing the 28-year-old, while the Mirror's David McDonnell reports LvG's quotes:

"

Yes, it’s match fitness [that is keeping Falcao out of the team] I will clarify it with more facts. He has trained two days after the Stoke match. We had the match on Tuesday, when he played for 15 minutes. Then we had the training sessions after Tuesday. But before Tuesday, we didn’t train. We trained the box exercise and that is not a full training session.

Because we had to play again within two days of the Hull game last week, I have to have a recovery session, so I cannot train him. After Tuesday, I can train him and we trained very well on Wednesday, but then Thursday they are off. I can say to him train but, no, we have trained before that.

"

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Although Van Gaal believes two training sessions "is a contribution," he suggests Falcao was unable to play "in the second team for 45, 60 or even 90 minutes—what Jonny Evans has done—but I couldn’t do that as Wayne Rooney was also injured." Right now, the Colombian "can only play 20 minutes" because of the Premier League's intensity.

Van Gaal's words will leave United fans questioning whether Falcao will ever truly be theirs. The injury-plagued striker has yet to complete more than 73 minutes in a single match for the team, per WhoScored.com.

He contributed the winning goal against Everton when he lasted that long, also providing assists in his two starts prior to that game.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The recent fixture against Stoke, which Rooney was forced to sit out through injury, looked like the perfect opportunity for Falcao to step up. However, teenager James Wilson was preferred and gave an energetic performance.

Despite Robin van Persie posting another anonymous display, Falcao was afforded just 12 minutes in a match United were ultimately fortunate to win.

B/R UK's Sam Tighe believes Wilson's quality could see him stop Falcao making an impact on the first team:

Monday's match against Southampton is unlikely to yield a start for the struggling striker. With Rooney back and Van Persie seemingly undroppable, another bit-part performance is likely.

Falcao hasn't done anything particularly wrong on the pitch—he appears willing to work hard when given the opportunity—but Van Gaal will be wary of upsetting the balance that has seen United win four games in a row.

Of course, a busy schedule awaits over the Christmas period. United have six Premier League matches to traverse before their FA Cup run begins in the New Year, a period in which Falcao is likely to be needed.

If his playing time doesn't significantly increase over the coming month, it's fair to suggest the decision to take him on loan will allow United to cover their backs once the end of the season arrives.