Raheem Sterling stars for Manchester City as Van Gaal considers future
England's most expensive player Raheem Sterling continued to make his mark at new club Manchester City by netting twice in their 8-1 friendly victory over Vietnam in Hanoi last night.
Former Liverpool forward Sterling, who cost City £49m, bagged a first-half double, having also found the net against Italian side Roma last week. Midfielder David Silva and full-back Aleksandar Kolarov also scored twice in the rout.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, admitted that he may leave the club at the end of his current contract, which expires in 2017.
“I promised that to my wife. We have not many years together any more. That is the reason,” said the 63-year-old. “I have done everything in my career as a manager.”
Van Gaal strengthened his United squad yesterday by signing former Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero on a free transfer as a contingency should No1 David de Gea, who has a year remaining on his existing Old Trafford deal, leave for Real Madrid.
“We have to prepare our season with the threat that David de Gea is going to Real Madrid,” added Van Gaal.
Ex-United striker Mark Hughes continued the overhaul of his Stoke City squad by luring Holland winger Ibrahim Afellay to the Potteries from Barcelona on a free transfer. The 29-year-old, capped 50 times, is Stoke’s eighth new recruit of the summer.
Premier League newcomers Watford have made their 10th signing since securing promotion after signing forward Steven Berghuis from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar for a fee in the region of £4.6m.