Manchester United: Ed Woodward insists Red Devils will continue to spend and strengthen

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has indicated that the Red Devils' heavy transfer spend in the last two summers is likely to continue, as they look to strengthen the squad further. But he also made it clear that the youth in the team will also be afforded chances, as they build a squad to get back to winning ways.

United manager Louis van Gaal has spent in excess of £250m ($384m) on new players since his arrival at Old Trafford last summer. The biggest outlay went towards the purchase of Angel di Maria, who was signed for a British record of £60m in 2014 and sold to Paris Saint-Germain a year later, while this season saw the arrival of Anthony Martial, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, with the latter two costing in excess of £20m, while the former is set to set the club back by around £57.6m, including bonuses for future appearances and honours.

But Woodward has made it clear the club will not stop spending big on players, while continuing to give the youngsters at the club a chance to break into the first team. The Dutch manager has given a fair share of youth players a run in the senior squad, with Andreas Pereira being the latest to make his first start for the club in the Champions League.

The executive vice-chairman is also delighted to return to Europe after a year's out of the Champions League, owing to their seventh place finish during the 2013/14 campaign under former manager David Moyes. The Red Devils are currently third in the league with 16 points from eight games, and Woodward is delighted with the start to the season, which also sees them in the fourth round of the League Cup and well placed to qualify from their group in Champions League.