The Dutchman says the talented crop of youngsters at the club influenced his transfer policy.
“[The young players] want to prove and they want to show to the world, to the manager, to everybody, that they are the best, so they always give spirit to a team,” Van Gaal said.
“That is why we have decided not to invest in January and I have said that already two months ago, but you don’t want to believe it. In January we took the risk for the left-back position and we didn’t buy.
“We needed a left-back and we inquired about a lot of players. Some have said it now.
“It is always the agent that is doing that because it is interesting Man United is inquiring, but we said, ‘Okay, maybe Borthwick-Jackson and Varela can do the job’.
“There was Spanish interest in Varela and we said no because of that.”
