Manchester United will set the bar high for Louis van Gaal next season

Louis van Gaal will be told he must make Manchester United champions next season if the club embark on another massive spending spree.

The Old Trafford giants are planning to follow last summer’s unprecedented £150million blow-out on another mind-boggling blitz of the transfer market - but Van Gaal will be warned that the spending spree will come at a price.

Last summer, when United were looking for a successor to sacked manager David Moyes, senior club sources initially made it clear the new man would be expected to win the title in his debut season.

However, that target was reassessed when Van Gaal held discussions with vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the club’s American owners.

The Dutchman insisted he would only take the job if he was given time to rebuild the team - and that he could not be expected to deliver anything more than a top-four finish.

He is now close to keeping his promise.

After spending a fortune recruiting Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Radamel Falcao and Victor Valdes last year, the Reds are ready to hit the transfer market with a vengeance again.

Real Madrid's Welsh forward Gareth Bale tops the wish-list, with Van Gaal also in the market for Borussia Dortmund duo Mats Hummels (centre-back) and Ilkay Gundogan (midfielder), PSV Eindhoven wide-man Memphis Depay and Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne.

Those targets would cost close to £200m – and the United hierarchy will demand value for money.

Van Gaal, who has two years left on the contract he signed last summer, has said he will deliver the title before his deal expires.

But his bosses will expect the Premier League trophy to return to Old Trafford next season if they land their targets.

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