Manchester United have blueprint to show Jurrien Timber why he should ignore Louis van Gaal

They say revenge is a dish best served cold and Louis van Gaal appears to have been storing his grievances with Manchester United in a freezer for the past six years.

Van Gaal was poorly treated when he was sacked by United in the immediate aftermath of winning the FA Cup final in 2016, even if the writing was on the wall for the coach whose style had turned soporific at Old Trafford.

United should probably have realised that angering the temperamental and straight-talking Van Gaal wasn't wise to do and in the intervening years he's taken every opportunity possible to fire a dig at the club and, especially, Ed Woodward.

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This summer Van Gaal's role as the éminence grise of Dutch coaching has put him back on the radar at United. The Holland manager first advised Erik ten Hag not to take the job and is now telling players not to sign for his former club. His voice carries plenty of weight, especially in a World Cup year.

Ten Hag was single-minded enough to ignore Van Gaal's barbs about choosing a "football club and not a commercial club", but for Dutch players hoping to cement their place in his 26-man squad for Qatar in November and December, going against Van Gaal's words of wisdom is harder to do.

The 70-year-old has made it clear players must be playing regularly at club level to stay in his international squad and Donny van de Beek can attest to those words being more than hollow threats. Van de Beek's disastrous two years at United have cost him his place and he hasn't featured for Holland since March 2021.

Van de Beek's fall from grace can certainly act as a warning to other players in Van Gaal's current plans, so when he told 21-year Jurrien