Louis Van Gaal Defends Ed Woodward, Talks Transfers in Manchester United Presser

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has defended executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in the wake of the Red Devils losing out to Chelsea in the signing of Barcelona's Pedro.

Pedro's £21 million switch to Stamford Bridge was confirmed on Thursday following long-term speculation that he would join United, per BBC Sport.

Woodward was reported to have flown to Spain in an attempt to confirm the signing of the Spanish forward, per Sky Sports' Guillem Balague.

However, despite Woodward taking the blame from many corners for failing to seal the deal, Van Gaal jumped to his defence in his press conference ahead of United's Saturday meeting with Newcastle, per Jack Lang in the Mirror:

Per Sky Sports, Van Gaal said he has great trust in Woodward:

As Dutch football journalist Elko Born noted, Van Gaal was never likely to blame Woodward and risk causing a rift with the man who deals with United's signings:

The Red Devils have had a decent time of it in the current transfer window, snapping up Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Sergio Romero, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

However, they are still short up front—United are currently lacking quality cover and assistance for striker Wayne Rooney—and in the centre of defence.

Van Gaal did not rule out making further signings in the remainder of the transfer window but suggested he is happy with his current squad, per United's Twitter feed:

It seems as though the Old Trafford outfit will need to make further additions to their squad if they want to maintain a genuine Premier League title challenge this season.

They have won their opening two matches of the league term but have hardly been lighting up the division, and some added firepower is necessary.

Van Gaal hinted that Woodward was assessing other options in Spain as well as Pedro, per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst:

It seems there is some further scope for additions as the transfer window draws to a close.

United looked bright in their midweek Champions League clash against Club Brugge and will hope to put in a strong performance against Newcastle as they go for three wins from three.

It is still early in the season, but they could make an impact in the Premier League in 2015-16, especially if they make one or two further additions before August is over.