Louis van Gaal has swipe at Woodward and talks up Erik ten Hags Man Utd chances

Louis van Gaal has taken a swipe at Ed Woodward and insisted Erik ten Hag has a greater chance of succeeding at Manchester United now there is a new chief executive in charge.

Van Gaal had a spectacular fall-out with Woodward in 2016, when the former United supremo sacked him just 48 hours after he'd won the FA Cup. The Dutchman was seething after finding out Woodward had lined up Jose Mourinho to replace him – despite having given him a public vote of confidence.

Woodward decided to stand down as executive vice chairman last season in the wake of his role in the failed European Super League proposals. He left United earlier this year and was replaced at the helm by Richard Arnold.

And Van Gaal reckons Ten Hag stands a much better chance of being successful under Arnold instead of Woodward. The former Holland and Barcelona boss said: "I have spoken to him (Ten Hag). There is now a new leadership. It was Woodward and now it is Richard Arnold.

"That can make the difference, so we will have to wait and see. He (Ten Hag) has a lot of confidence. So who am I to say something about that?" Ten Hag wants to make Holland international Jurien Timber one of his first signings and is hoping to land the defender from his former club Ajax.

But Van Gaal reckons it would only be a shrewd signing if Timber is given lots of games to prove himself. He added: "I think a player with his qualities can play in the Premier League. That's not a problem, but if he has to make this big step now, that's the question. He has to play."

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Meanwhile, United boss Ten Hag has set up his own Twitter account – to stop people pretending to be him on social media. United sources revealed that the account- which has the handle @eriktenhag – belongs to Ten Hag, although the Dutchman is not expected to be active on it once the new Premier League season kicks off in August. The account is locked and has one hidden follower, but has been verified by the social medial platform. It has been created on his behalf by digital experts at Old Trafford.

United insist a host of people have set-up bogus accounts claiming to be the former Ajax manager and were keen to create a genuine one to distinguish him from the fake ones. It is understood other people could post messages on behalf of Ten Hag, with his approval, that would relate to sponsorship and commercial promotions. Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola also has an official Twitter account, although he is not thought to post messages on it himself.

Despite struggling to win trophies in recent seasons, United remain a commercial monster and one of the richest clubs in the world. Arnold is keen to drive the club's huge revenue streams through various social media outlets. United are one of the most popular clubs on the planet in terms of social media interaction and have 20.52 million followers on Twitter, as well as 32.18 million on Instagram.

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