Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is reportedly confident that Victor Valdes will convince his former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves to join him at Old Trafford when he becomes a free agent this summer.
The 31-year-old right-back, who is currently on the final year of his Barcelona contract, is expected to leave the Nou Camp this summer as manager Luis Enrique has reportedly asked the club's hierarchy to not renew his contract.
However, Alves will certainly not find it difficult to join a new club as the Brazilian is still regarded as one of the best right-backs in Europe, having enjoyed a stellar career at the Catalan based club since his £23 million switch from Sevilla in the summer of 2008.
A number of Premier League clubs, including London giants Arsenal and Chelsea, are believed to be interested in the experienced Brazilian, but the Daily Express claims that van Gaal is confident of landing Alves in the summer.
This is because, the Dutchman feels that ex Barcelona man Valdes, who recently joined United on a free transfer, will be able to convince Alves into choosing Manchester United over Arsenal or Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Daley Blind feels that his ability to play in a number of positions is very beneficial to Manchester United as he is easily able to adapt to any system that van Gaal adopts.
The versatile Dutchman has already been deployed in a number of positions - centre midfield, central defence, left-back - by van Gaal since his arrival to the club this summer.
And the 24-year-old says that he is happy that his versatility has proved beneficial to team.
"I like that I can play more positions – I don't see it as a negative point, I think I can help the team by being like that when we need it," he told MUTV in an exclusive interview. "It's also nice for the manager that he has more options with me."
Blind claims that his training at Dutch side Ajax helped him with his versatility.
"Back at Ajax I used to switch a couple of times during games and I tried to always learn what was needed for each position," added the Dutchman.
"It's now a bit easier for me to switch really quickly in my mind for the different positions so I know what to do where. I think that's important."
