Manchester United star Radamel Falcao in shock over Louis van Gaal's decision to axe him

Posted Tuesday, January 13, 2015 by Dailystar.co.uk

RADAMEL FALCAO has been left in a state of shock by Louis van Gaal's decision to axe him at the weekend.

Van Gaal has come under-fire for leaving the Colombian hitman out of his Manchester United squad altogether for Sunday's shock home defeat to Southampton.

The no-nonsense Dutchman dropped Falcao without explanation and named teenage forward James Wilson among the substitutes instead.

The baffling move came back to haunt him as United crashed to a 1-0 defeat and failed to register a single shot on target.

The decision was made even more baffling because Falcao had started the previous five games and scored twice.

Manchester United star Radamel Falcao in shock over Louis van Gaal's decision to axe him
STUNNED: Falcao does not know why he was left out of United's clash with Southampton

Falcao is desperate for a run of games as he looks to prove himself and make his season-long move from Monaco permanent in the summer.

United have the option to buy him from the French outfit for £43m and are coming under increasing pressure from Falcao's representatives to make a decision.

But Starsport understands his weekend snub has left him confused about his future at Old Trafford.

It is understood Falcao trained well on Friday and was confident of being included in the Van Gaal's starting XI to face Saints.

But when Van Gaal pinned up his team sheet later that night the Colombian was left open-mouthed when his name wasn't included in the squad at all.

A source close to Falcao said: "He thought he had trained well and would be in the team, so to find out he wasn't even in the squad left him surprised and disappointed to say the least.

"He was stunned and he knows there will be serious doubts now about his long-term future at the club."

United, meanwhile, are set to step-up their attempts to sign Morgan Schneiderlin after being told Dutch international Kevin Strootman won't be allowed to leave Roma until the summer.

The French midfielder was outstanding in the Saints win at Old Trafford, impressing Van Gaal and his United bosses.

Van Gaal is desperate to bolster his midfield and with a move for Strootman on hold, he could now test the Saints resolve with a £25m bid.