Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United are prepared to challenge for the Champions League

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has revealed that he is preparing a team which can win the Champions League title in the upcoming seasons. The former Ajax manager won the Champions League with the Dutch club 20 years ago.

Van Gaal is confident that he has the right mix of players to lodge a challenge and eventually win the tournament after an eight-year hiatus for the three-time winners. The Red Devils have to overcome Club Brugge in the play-off stage first to make their way into the group stages, having already taken a 3-1 lead from the opening leg at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal has inducted the likes of Adnan Januzaj and Memphis Depay into the team this season and insists that a successful team has a mix of both youth and experience in their ranks. The likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick are there to provide the experience of winning multiple titles with their respective clubs over the last few years.

Van Gaal has made a good start to the Premier League campaign, taking seven points from a possible nine and are only behind league rivals Manchester City in points accrued thus far. The veteran is therefore confident that he can take this form into the Champions League and accomplish something special at the end of the season.

"Yes, I believe in that," Van Gaal said, as quoted by the Mirror, when asked if he is building a team like the one which won the Champions League with Ajax. "I believe more in the mix, than players only from 27 to 34 years old.

"You have to believe in the youth education. When you see Manchester United, and how many young players we have and play, we are starting with Luke Shaw, Memphis Depay, Adnan Januzaj, then Jesse Lingard, Paddy McNair...

"They are all in the squad and sometimes they shall play more matches. It is also dependable what is happening in the transfer period, and we are starting to make a mixture, and it is important to make a mixture with young and older players.

"We [Ajax] won the final with players aged 18 and 19, but also with players like [United's current duo] Carrick and Schweinsteiger - it was Frank Rijkaard and Danny Blind, they were over 30. I believe in the mix," he added.