Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal praises James Wilson amid Radamel Falcao doubts

Louis van Gaal says Manchester United need the "pace of James Wilson" up front, while he refused to confirm whether Radamel Falcao will regain his place in the starting line-up during the Premier League game against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday 17 January.

With Robin van Persie a doubt for the visit to Loftus Road due to an ankle injury, the manager will have to decide between the Colombian star and the United starlet for the number nine role.

Earlier on Friday 16 January, Van Gaal urged Falcao to prove his worth at United to earn a permanent move to Old Trafford this summer but now he has failed to confirm if the striker will have the chance to do so against Harry Redknapp's side.

"You will have to wait and see, like every journalist," he said to MUTV.

"I have spoken to him but I always speak with the players, I am a good communicator, so that is not a big exception. But of course he was not in the squad, so then you talk more with this kind of player because for them it is a big disappointment. I wanted to explain what he has to do in the future and that I have done."

But while he maintained doubts over Falcao, Van Gaal did not hesitate to praise Wilson – even though the 19-year-old striker has only started two Premier League games this season and has been an unused substitute in the last three games.

"Pace is very important," he stated. "Nowadays, football cannot be played without pace and, therefore, for example, Wilson and Di Maria are very important for me and that's why they play so much.

"But, of course, the last pass is also very important and we have to improve that because we have enough pace in our playing style and also we have enough pace in our passing.

"We could make passes riskier at a higher speed but we have to do it on the pitch at the right time and we have to score."

Van Gaal is looking for improvements in the final third after United failed to record a single shot on target during the home defeat against Southampton.

He said: "OK, you can see we have not created too many chances in the last three matches but, before that, we played at Tottenham and we had six big chances with the same system.

"It's always dependable on the opponents also but I have to say, in the last phase of our attack, we've failed in the last pass and that is the most important pass. I hope we shall improve that in the coming matches."