Louis van Gaal Talks David De Gea, More in Villa vs. Manchester United Presser

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal confirmed during his pre-match press conference on Thursday that David De Gea will remain out of the squad as the side travels to face Aston Villa on Friday.  

De Gea, who continues to be heavily linked to Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, per ABC (via Jack Wilson of the Daily Star), sat out the season-opening victory over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. Although United are expecting him to stay, per Simon Stone of BBC Sport, Van Gaal noted his status is unchanged in the short term, per the club's official site: "No, it is the same situation. He remains out of the squad."

Sergio Romero kept a clean sheet in his Red Devils debut against Spurs and is expected to keep his place in the starting lineup, Van Gaal added, per MUTV (via the club's official Twitter feed).

He didn't have any key injury updates to provide. High-profile addition Bastian Schweinsteiger isn't quite ready to go the full 90, and defender Marcos Rojo is still working on finding form while Phil Jones is dealing with a minor illness, according to the report.

"It is still the same, no injuries—only illness (mild thrombosis) for Phil Jones," Van Gaal said.

A relatively healthy squad leads to difficult lineup decisions. Promising winger Adnan Januzaj is one player on the outside looking in so far. Van Gaal explained he's not going to move the Belgium international during the transfer window, but his role is simply unsettled at the point, per the report: "I have 28 players and I have to select every week and maybe every three days. Last week I chose for other players. He is doing his utmost best, all the players are doing that. I don't have any complaints."

He also talked about striking the right balance between getting players involved without losing chemistry, which the veteran boss believes cost the side too many points last term.

As the focus shifted toward the title race—it's seemingly far too soon for those discussions—he downplayed the idea of putting pressure on the other championship contenders as this early stage.

"No, we have only a better start than last season and that we have wished before the game and fortunately we won, but the season takes a long time," Van Gaal said. "After 10 matches [last year] we had 13 points. It was still possible to be the champion and until the game against Chelsea at [Stamford Bridge] it was possible. It is also possible for Arsenal and Chelsea to recover the points, we shall also lose this season."

Van Gaal did mention the club's away form being "the key for success" this season, though.

Although United walked away with three points last week, they didn't play anywhere near their best. The attacking group must showcase far more cohesion in the final third and take better care of the scoring chances that do arise against a Villa side that opened with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.

The club's depth should prove valuable over the course of the campaign, but it's creating some early headaches for Van Gaal as he tries to find the right 11. As for whether De Gea will eventually return to that group, the answer will have to wait at least a while longer.