How dangerous is Di Maria? “Angel Di Maria has played only 20 minutes and that’s because of the match rhythm that I gave. I have said I have only one injured player, but I don’t have 100 per cent match fit players. That’s a different thing, but of course Di Maria is for example further than Daley Blind or Rojo. I have to select the best team and also I have to watch the qualities of Southampton, how I can reduce that quality by my line-up but also by our game-plan.”
Who is the one injured player? “Ashley Young… Four weeks to six weeks, I think. It’s always difficult to predict in a muscle disease. Blind has trained a full week with us. Will he be fit to play? Maybe, I cannot say that because I have to select.”
What is the situation with injuries? “I’m very happy with your question because we have only one player injured. Can you believe it? Only one. I have to select for the first team in my career at Manchester United the eleven and the eighteen players.”
What does this mean for Anders Lindegaard? “I think that he [Valdes] fits more in the profile that I have of a goalkeeper, and that’s it.”
More on buying Valdes: “We were the first to buy a player. We were very quick to buy Victor Valdes. You notice? Manchester – we deal quickly. When we can, we deal quickly.”
Will you add to the group in January? “No, no, in this transfer window I do not discuss with you. You can ask in another way but I am always saying the same answer.”
Is it your ambition to have the two best goalkeepers in the world?“My ambition is that I have the best players who can cooperate with each other to form the best team in the world.”
On Valdes competing with De Gea: “I cannot discuss that with you. I discuss that with David, with Victor – it shall be like that… Nobody is happy to be no.2 and he has to have ambition to beat David De Gea, but it shall be very hard for him.”
On Valdes: “When you invite Victor Valdes to have his rehabilitation here at Manchester united, you do that for him, but also for yourself. I had the chance to see him and his behaviour in rehabilitation but also if his quality was still the same. He has confirmed both and that is very important for me and also for him because when I am satisfied then mostly the players are satisfied.”