It has been another strange season for Manchester United supporters.
As a group of fans, there are many who have only ever experienced their side being the best team in the country.
Yet during Louis van Gaal’s debut season in English football, United have been inconsistent to say the least.
Six consecutive league victories – including memorable wins over Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City – had United fans claiming their side was back and set to challenge for the title once again next season.
Yet the last three matches have produced three consecutive defeats without a goal scored, and provided further evidence there is still plenty of work to be done for van Gaal and his side.
Here we have identified an XI that supporters would be delighted to see lining up on the opening day of next season.
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Click on Old Trafford to reveal the dream Manchester Utd starting XI under van Gaal next season
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David De Gea
The Spaniard has established himself as one of the finest goalkeepers in Europe over the past couple of seasons, and will be as much to thank as anyone in the Manchester United squad if they do manage to hold onto their top four spot.
The worry now for Louis van Gaal is keeping a hold of De Gea, with Real Madrid reportedly ready to come calling with an offer in the summer.
Everyone connected with United hope the former Atletico number one will still be at Old Trafford when the new season begins in August.
Nathaniel Clyne
The Southampton right back has been one of the outstanding performers in what has been an excellent season for Ronald Koeman’s side.
He will perhaps consider himself first choice for England at present also, and has been mentioned as a possible transfer target for United in the summer.
Rafael has struggled for fitness this term, and natural right winger Antonio Valencia has often been deployed out of position at right back in recent weeks, leaving van Gaal in desperate need of a new full back this summer.
With United searching for more ‘homegrown’ talent, it would not be a surprise to see them offer Southampton more big money for a young British full back as they did with Luke Shaw last summer.
Raphael Varane
The French centre back is considered one of the best young defenders in Europe, yet he is still not considered an automatic first choice at Real Madrid.
Sergio Ramos and Pepe remain the first choice partnership at the Bernabeu, and that has seen Varane linked with a summer move to the Premier League.
Louis van Gaal looks set to battle Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho for the signature of the highly rated 21-year-old, and whilst the Chelsea boss would consider himself favourite given he has managed Varane previously, United showed last summer they have the financial power to tempt anyone to Old Trafford.
Mats Hummels
Overall United have paid the price for their failure to land a top class centre back last summer.
The likes of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have been too inconsistent, whilst young Paddy McNair has been asked to play far more than even he would have liked.
Mats Hummels and Borussia Dortmund have had a campaign to forget up until now, but still reports claim a deal has been all but agreed for the World Cup winner – with Jurgen Klopp powerless to prevent it given he has already announced he will be leaving the Westfalenstadion at the end of the season.
Luke Shaw
It has not been the ideal first season as a Manchester United player for Luke Shaw, but there have been signs in recent months he will prove a success.
Still a teenager, Shaw needs time to adapt to life at one of the world’s biggest clubs, and escape the pressure of that massive £30million transfer fee.
There is no doubting he is an exciting, talented young player, and United fans will hope to see the best of him in a red shirt next season.
Kevin Strootman
The Roma midfielder is a player van Gaal has admired for a long time, having managed him at international level with the Netherlands.
Strootman has been linked with United consistently over the past 18 months, but a serious injury wrecked his hopes of a move to Old Trafford.
Now back to fitness, it seems this summer is the time for United to finally land their man.
With the fitness problems of Michael Carrick there for all to see this season, United will see a top class midfielder as a priority this summer – and the Dutchman fits the bill.
Marouane Fellaini
The Belgian has enjoyed a quite remarkable turnaround at Manchester United this season, having gone from £27million flop to vital first team star.
Fellaini was a central figure during United’s run of six consecutive victories, causing Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City all manner of problems in that slightly more advanced position.
The former Everton man has not only done enough to stay at Old Trafford next season, but at the moment he looks a key man in the formation Louis van Gaal appears to have settled on.
Juan Mata
The Spaniard is another to have turned his Old Trafford career around in recent months, yet United fans would still like to see him deployed in a more central area.
The introduction of a holding midfielder such as Strootman in the summer would allow Mata to move inside to a midfield three, taking the place of fellow countryman Ander Herrera – who has struggled to maintain any kind of consistency this season.
With a run of games behind him and fully fit, there are few better playmakers in Europe than Mata. It is crucial United use him in the correct way next season.
Marco Reus
The German spent all of last summer being linked with a host of top clubs, with Manchester United amongst them.
He has since signed a new contract at Dortmund, despite their struggles this season – but that doesn’t appear to have put United off.
They have shown they are not afraid to spend big in the last couple of years, and are willing to do so again if it means landing one of the most exciting attacking talents in Europe, whilst the fact Jurgen Klopp is set to walk away from Dortmund in a couple of weeks means there are no longer any guarantees Reus will stay put.
Wayne Rooney
One thing Manchester United supporters hope Louis van Gaal has learnt from his debut season in England, is that Wayne Rooney is very much at his best as a central striker.
United’s best run of the season coincided with their skipper being deployed as a centre forward, rather than an attacking midfielder.
Rooney needs a run of games in his favoured position from the start of next season to prove what he can do. There is still nobody else United fans would rather see leading the line at Old Trafford.
Gareth Bale
Currently the world’s most expensive player, Manchester United would be one of the very few clubs capable of affording Gareth Bale if he decided to move on this summer.
It has not been an easy campaign for the Welshman at Real Madrid, with the home supporters often turning on the former Tottenham man when things are not going so well.
He was even the victim of supporters vandalising his car just a few weeks ago, and should he decide on returning to a country and a league where he is admired and respected, Manchester United would surely be alongside Chelsea at the front of the queue for his signature.
