Ed Woodward

Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has praised new manager Louis Van gaal, claiming the Dutch boss can bring the Barcelona attacking style to Old Trafford.

The Dutch boss has been credited during his long successful career for an attacking style and fostering new talent.

He handed both Andres Iniesta and fellow midfielder Xavi their debuts at the Nou Camp.

"He's got incredible energy and very importantly he likes attacking football. If you remember the Barcelona team [he managed] in the late '90s, who played incredible, attacking football, and those games we had against them in '98/99, that's the kind of football Manchester United fans love. It's part of our DNA," Woodward said to Manchester United official website.

"The second part of what he likes is giving youth a chance. He's got a track record littered with giving young players a break in the first team, who have gone on to be stars. Clearly that's Manchester United's philosophy and we want him to continue with that.

Related

Nevertheless, the executive vice-chairman claims that Ryan Giggs will also have crucial role to give continuity to the United history – and will form an impressive partnership with Van Gaal.

"It was a very easy conversation to have [with Louis] about Ryan. He said he wanted Ryan to be in his group. It's very important to us as a club that we have continuity and Ryan is the perfect person to continue that continuity. He did a great job in the set-up last year and has obviously been at the club for a long time, so we're very pleased about that.

"There is real unity in the squad and Louis clearly has something to give in terms of the special way he has with his players when it comes to binding the team together. We've seen that already with the steps he's taken with the preparation and the training and the things going on around that. He's going to deliver exactly what we expect him to deliver and in conjunction with Ryan, who has that great understanding of all these players."

Louis van Gaal