Manchester United Transfer News: Van Gaal Speeding up Efforts to Sign Dutch Defender

Manchester United are reportedly looking to step up their interest in Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar as Louis van Gaal looks to reinforce his squad this month.

The 29-year-old is going to be available on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract with the Villans this summer, but van Gaal is reportedly keen on bringing him to Old Trafford in the winter transfer window.

However, Villa are reportedly prepared to see him leave for free in the summer rather than sell him to Manchester United in January.

Still, the Red Devils are reportedly hoping to test the Villans' resolve with a £1.5m bid.

Although that bid is unlikely to change Villa's current stance on Vlaar, United may be able to land the Dutchman with a little higher offer.

Since Villa already have sufficient defenders in their squad, Vlaar's absence will not be a problem if he does leave in January.

Due to this reason, Villa boss Paul Lambert may be willing to sell the former Feyenoord defender if United are willing to match the £4 million transfer fee they paid to land Vlaar three years ago.

Van Gaal should have no problem spending a mere £4 million on such a talented defender especially considering the price of his other defensive targets including Mats Hummels, Diego Godin, Miranda, Gerard Pique and Raphael Varane.

Apart from that, the addition of Vlaar would certainly be beneficial for United as the defender is well-versed with van Gaal's style of play and philosophy, having done so well under the former Netherlands boss in the 2014 World Cup.

Van Gaal will be hoping to close down the deal as soon as possible as he has been troubled with a lot of defensive injuries in his inaugural campaign at Old Trafford, with his four main centre-backs Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, and Marcos Rojo all being sidelined at various stages of the season.

Meanwhile, Colombian striker Ramadel Falcao says that he is really enjoying life at Manchester, insisting that the people have been very nice to him and his family.

"My family are comfortable," the former Porto striker told Manchester United's official website. "We're enjoying life in Manchester and here at the club. The people have been great with me, with my family. We're happy and very grateful."

The 28-year-old striker also says that his Manchester United teammates have been very welcoming and supportive.

"Right from the start, they [my colleagues] welcomed me," he revealed. "They supported me and helped me with whatever I needed. They are a really humble group of players, really decent and, well, I was taken aback by how kind they've been."