Manchester United: Louis van Gaal convinces Barcelona winger Pedro after making first team promise

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has told Pedro Rodriguez that he will be a regular starter in a front three which shall include him, Wayne Rooney and Memphis Depay, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Barcelona winger has been struggling for game time at his current club, with Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi all claiming a stake on his place.

The winger made 55 appearances for the club last season, scoring 16 goals and assisting nine, albeit primarily from the bench. At 27, he is looking for more game time and Van Gaal is looking to afford him that in a bid to bring him to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman had made Gareth Bale his main signing of the summer but Rafa Benitez has confirmed that there will be no departures this summer, leaving him to look at other options.

"As I mentioned with Karim, there's a lot of speculation," Benitez said, as quoted by Goal. "I don't care about any of it. I just want to concentrate on football, all of my players will be staying here."

Pedro has a £22m ($34m) release clause, according to the Telegraph, which is likely to be triggered by United when given the go-ahead in the transfer. If things go per plan Pedro is likely to secure a transfer following an appearance in the Gamper Trophy season curtain-raiser at the Nou Camp against Roma on Wednesday (5 August).

The Barcelona man will be a direct replacement for Angel Di Maria who has all but completed a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain after failing to adjust to life at Manchester following his record move from Real Madrid last summer.

The Argentine made 10 assists for United last season in the league but was dropped following his performance against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where he received a red card.

United have made five signings in the window thus far, bringing in Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian, Depay and Sergio Romero thus far and is open to bringing in a few more if the opportunity presents itself.