Louis van Gaal believes Man United's youth system remains key to the culture of the club

Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal has assured Manchester United fans that he will do all he can to protect the club’s tradition of producing their own talent.

Van Gaal has splashed the cash to the tune of £150million in less than two months at Old Trafford, recruiting internationals like Angel

Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojos and Daley Blind.

Another £24m has been spent on a one-year loan deal for Radamel Falcao, while United will also test Roma’s resolve to keep Kevin Strootman out of Van Gaal’s clutches in January.

But the United boss insists that he remains committed to the policy of promoting from the youth team – which is a philosophy that has served him well throughout a career that has taken him to Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AZ Alkmaar.

And he won’t be afraid to drop a big-money player if the right kid comes through.

Van Gaal said: “For me, money doesn’t say anything. Quality says everything. I call young players the guardians of the club. Every youth player coming up is a guardian because he learns the culture from a child.

“The class of ‘92 were guardians of the culture of the club. And it is very important that a club like Manchester United have guardians – and therefore you need a very good youth education.”

Van Gaal also believes skipper Wayne Rooney can play a role in promoting the United philosophy – after spending a decade at Old Trafford following his £25m arrival from Everton.

He added: “Rooney is such a player. He is captain and he is also a guardian of this club. He can transfer this culture to his fellow players.

“That is very important and I have done that with Barcelona. I gave a debut to Xavi, to Iniesta, to Puyol, to Valdes. Also, Badstuber, Muller and Alaba at Bayern.”