Louis van Gaal admits he has already tried to sign Arturo Vidal before

Louis van Gaal has said he always wanted to buy Arturo Vidal and admits he tried to sign him before he left Bayer Leverkusen for Juventus back in 2011.

Vidal was a very promising midfielder in the Bundesliga when Van Gaal was boss of Bayern Munich and he clearly left an impression on him which can only be a good thing from a Manchester United perspective.

Speaking on the threat that Chile offer ahead of the Netherlands game against them at the World Cup, Van Gaal revealed he had a soft spot for Chilean players because of their attacking style.

"Chile have very dangerous players," he said.

"I always wanted to buy Vidal when he was at Bayer Leverkusen but he went to Juventus."

"I like a lot of Chile players and they always play an attacking style. It will be difficult for the Netherlands but we have confidence in the three games we have to play."

With a move for Toni Kroos ruled out, Cesc Fabregas not looking like a target and Kevin Strootman injured until the Autumn, there has been a lot of guesswork as to the real midfield targets of Van Gaal this summer.

However, Vidal is the name that will sit atop the list of most fans and given that he has now made it clear of his affinity towards him, it certainly gives legs to a potential move from United.