QPR vs. Manchester United: Key Louis van Gaal Comments from Pre-Game Presser

Louis van Gaal has suggested that Manchester United are unlikely to sign players in January due to his targets being unavailable, and he also offered a stern warning to Radamel Falcao.

The Dutchman made the comments ahead of United's trip to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, a match the Red Devils will be itching to win after suffering defeat against Southampton last time out.

Van Gaal suggested that no new faces will boost his squad during the winter window and that loanee Radamel Falcao must up his game to secure a permanent move, as tweeted by ESPN FC's Alex Shaw:

Mike Keegan of the MailOnline provided further comments from Van Gaal, who will focus on quality over quantity when trying to land new stars: "Not many players at a certain level are available. I have also said when we have to buy a player he has to be better than our players who are now playing now and that is a difficult job."

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Reports on Friday morning suggested that Van Gaal and United officials were considering "whether to spend big on a defender in the next two weeks," per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail. 

John Cross and David McDonnell of the Mirror reported that a "summit" meeting would take place ahead of a potential spending spree on players such as Mats Hummels, Kevin Strootman and Nathaniel Clyne, but Van Gaal's comments indicate that such a splurge isn't going ahead.

B/R UK's Alex Dimond recently considered candidates United could shell out for:

A decision as to whether Van Gaal wants Falcao at Old Trafford permanently looms large. The Colombian recently put in goalscoring performances against Aston Villa and Stoke City before Van Gaal dropped him from the squad to face Saints. 

Jorge Mendes, Falcao's agent, recently revealed that the player's future remains unresolved: "The truth is, right now, we don't know what will happen," Mendes told Sky Italia (h/t BBC Sport).

At his presser, Van Gaal stated that the 28-year-old striker needs to do more if he's to join United on a permanent deal, tweeted by Ian Herbert of The Independent:

BBC Sport's Simon Stone provided comment: "If Radamel Falcao was hoping for some comfort from Louis van Gaal from that press conference, he didn't get it."

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It's unconfirmed whether Falcao will return to the line-up for Saturday's game at Loftus Road. United missed his hold-up ability against Southampton, a match which saw Robin van Persie sustain an injury, per Samuel Luckhurst of Manchester Evening News. This may allow the under-pressure striker to finally take the leading role for Van Gaal's side.

Anything other than a win against QPR will place the boss under serious scrutiny. United have an excellent chance to extend their one-point lead over Arsenal, who face Manchester City on Sunday, and need a memorable performance to brush aside their recent defeat.

Falcao has the quality to be key to this result—and indeed the remainder of the season. Now Van Gaal has intimated that United won't be adding further quality to their squad this month, improved performances from the former Atletico Madrid man could paper over the cracks of a team in desperate need of defensive reinforcements.