Louis van Gaal cut an angry figure in his Manchester United press conference on Friday and said he was bemused by the amount of criticism he had received over the lack of transfer activity at the club.

"Two weeks ago I was the king of Manchester and now I am the devil of Manchester," Van Gaal said. The only signings through the door at Old Trafford so far are Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo. All three have potential but they are not yet in the same league as players who have been transferred to other leading clubs in Europe, such as Cesc Fábregas, Toni Kroos and Diego Costa - all of whom were available earlier in the summer.

"It's not so easy to buy and sell in the football market," added Van Gaal, who asked for patience from United's supporters who were left feeling dejected after the 2-1 opening-day defeat to Swansea. "It shall be difficult in the first three months. I have said that to (the executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward and the Glazers. I am hired to build up a team and that is a process and that process needs time.

“You have to believe in the philosophy that we make again a big club but it needs time and it’s not an overnight job.”

Van Gaal remains to committed to signing new players before the transfer window shuts a week on Monday week. The club have privately distanced themselves from reports that they are close to signing Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid.

The Dutch duo Kevin Strootman and Daley Blind are on Van Gaal's shortlist, while Sami Khedira appears to be another option after he requested to leave Real Madrid.