Manchester United Transfer News: Louis van Gaal Accused by Sam Johnstone's Agent

The agent of Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has accused manager Louis van Gaal of stifling young English talent by blocking a loan move to a Championship side for his client.

As reported by the Daily Mail's Sam Cunningham, the 22-year-old requested a loan move in order to find regular playing minutes, but despite the presence of David De Gea, Sergio Romero and Victor Valdes, the request was denied. That has left his agent, Jordan Segal of Impact Sports, furious:

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Sam just wants to play football but Manchester United are holding him back and not even playing him.

He is a young goalkeeper and it is time for him to play regularly. If that is not at Manchester United, then it has to be elsewhere. This is an example of young English talent being held back by Van Gaal.

The start of the season was the perfect opportunity to give Sam his chance to prove he can play for United. He is ready.

If they do not want him to play, then he needs to move for the sake of his career. He cannot sit on the bench or in the reserves.

England should have as many goalkeepers as possible to pick from. Given the early progress in his career that is the level he is aiming for. He is not going to get there by not playing.

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Johnstone enjoyed a strong loan spell with Preston North End last season, but according to Cunningham, Van Gaal never even sent scouts to watch him play. The youngster featured heavily during pre-season but was benched for United's Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur in favour of summer signing Romero.

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His situation is further complicated by the transfer saga surrounding De Gea, who seemed set to leave the club for Real Madrid before the deal fell through at the last minute, via Marca. Keylor Navas was expected to move the other way but didn't, while out-of-favour Valdes' move to Besiktas broke down just as he was about to board the plane, per author Sid Lowe.

The club's goalkeeping situation was ridiculously up in the air during the last two days of the summer transfer window, and Bleacher Report's Will Tidey noticed one name wasn't being mentioned:

Johnstone has spent the past couple of seasons out on loan at a variety of lower-league clubs and made a solid impression during pre-season. Despite that, he's unlikely to see much playing time this season, with De Gea now expected to start and Romero to be named as his primary backup.

Even if the deal to send De Gea to Real had gone through, Johnstone would have tumbled down the pecking order with Navas joining the club. Van Gaal knew this, so it's hard to understand why the youngster wasn't allowed to leave the club on loan.

The Red Devils and their manager have come under criticism for the way they handled the De Gea situation, such as from Marca, and the Guardian's Daniel Harris believes the Dutchman's lack of people skills is showing:

The Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler doesn't think Van Gaal cares one bit, however, as that's just not who he is:

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All in all, Van Gaal had every reason to be pleased with himself as he enjoyed his view over the Atlantic.

There was little chance, we are told, of him leaving the comfort of his villa and catching a short flight to Spain for a private chat with De Gea, who was mourning the collapse of his move to Real Madrid.

That is not Van Gaal’s style. He is not the arm-around-the-shoulder kind of guy and, at 64, the man they call the Iron Tulip is not for bending. ‘Louis does what Louis does,’ said one well-placed source. 

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Van Gaal has always been known as a brilliant tactician, not a motivator, and he seems to put little effort into building a personal bond with his players. Per Wheeler, the likes of Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria and Javier Hernandez all alluded to conflicts with Van Gaal that played into their decision to leave the club.

Despite that, it's hard not to be impressed by the Dutchman's track record of success, and while the Red Devils failed to add a world-class forward during the transfer window, they found plenty of success in other areas.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay all arrived during the summer and look set to play big roles this upcoming season, and somehow, De Gea is still at the club.

Van Gaal took over the role as manager from David Moyes at a time when the club was struggling, and his primary objective was to return the Red Devils to their winning ways. Youth development is less important than instant results right now, and while the debate surrounding the future of players such as Johnstone will continue, Van Gaal will likely have his mind on other matters.

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