After guiding his men to a narrow victory on the opening day of the season, Louis van Gaal sounded a confident note about his hopes of keeping David de Gea.

De Gea was left out of the matchday squad, Van Gaal saying before the game that the player's head was not right following the interest from Real Madrid. But Van Gaal insisted after the game that he believes he can still hang on to the player.

"Of course,” Van Gaal said when asked if he believes De Gea will stay, before explaining his decision to leave him out. "It is a position where you need the highest concentration, the highest focus during 90 minutes. When you are in circumstances where David de Gea is, it is difficult to cope with that.

"We have seen that, we have observed him in the matches against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and that was not the David de Gea — he felt the same — as last year.

"Of course when the situation has been cleared after the first of September, we look again. But I am very happy Sergio [Romero] did well."

Van Gaal admitted that De Gea's decision is out of his hands.

"I'm not the most important part," he told BT Sport.

"That is the player and of course the club who wants to buy him. "He is our best player and for three years already, has been chosen by the fans so we can not let him go so easily."

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