A former Manchester United talent has admitted that he was caught by complete surprise when Louis van Gaal turned to him during his time at Old Trafford.
Louis van Gaal was the second permanent Manchester United manager in the Old Trafford hot seat in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era of the Premier League club.
The 74-year-old Dutchman replaced former Red Devils boss David Moyes in 2014 after he had led the Netherlands to third place in the World Cup in Brazil.
Van Gaal oversaw two seasons at Old Trafford and led the Red Devils to an FA Cup trophy in 2016 before United sacked him and replaced him with Jose Mourinho.
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Timothy Fosu-Mensah now recalls his major interaction with Louis van Gaal at Man Utd
Timothy Fosu-Mensah had climbed through the ranks of the Manchester United youth academy before making his senior debut under Louis van Gaal in 2016.
The 28-year-old ex-Man Utd defender was only 18 years old when former Ajax and Barcelona manager Van Gaal rolled the dice with him in a Premier League match.
United were leading Arsenal 2-1 in their Premier League fixture in the 2015-16 season before Van Gaal took off Marcos Rojo and brought Timothy Fosu-Mensah on.
Fosu-Mensah recalled that the Dutchman was straight to the point with him in the Old Trafford dressing room after the end of the first half in United’s 3-2 win.
“It was amazing, it was really amazing,” he told Sky Sports.
“I remember being in the changing room at half-time and Louis van Gaal came up to me and said, ‘Make sure you’re ready.’”
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Timothy Fosu-Mensah explains what he did not realise about Louis van Gaal’s decision for the Man Utd vs Arsenal match
Marcos Rojo had to make way in the second half due to an injury and Timothy Fosu-Mensah was unaware that his former Man Utd teammate was struggling at the time.
“I didn’t know Marcos Rojo was struggling with an injury when he said be ready,” Fosu-Mensah added.
“I was like, ‘What does he [Van Gaal] mean?’”
United’s 3-2 encounter with Arsenal at Old Trafford was the major moment in which Marcus Rashford made his Premier League debut for the Red Devils.
Marcus Rashford started in the Red Devils attack under Van Gaal and the England international netted a stunning quick-fire brace against Arsenal in the first half.
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