Thursday 13 August 2015 10:30, UK
Memphis Depay is confident he will be able to cope with the pressure of wearing the famous No 7 for Manchester United.
Depay impressed on his debut on Saturday as United started the season with a comfortable 1-0 win over Tottenham.
The Dutchman attempted a variety of tricks, raced at Tottenham's back four and played a key part in the build-up to Kyle Walker's own goal, which settled the match in the 22nd minute.
The 21-year-old asked for the famous shirt which was previously worn by Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo following the departure of Angel Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain.
And Depay is happy to take the pressure on his shoulders and is convinced he will have a good first year at the club.
"Yes, of course (I'm aware of the pressure) and the history," the United forward said.
"I appreciate the history, but I want to be my own man. It's an honour to wear the number seven and I will wear it with pride.
"Last year I played with seven on my back (for PSV) and I scored a lot of goals so I am confident with that number."
Depay's haul of 22 league goals for PSV convinced United to sign the Dutchman this summer.
Although Depay failed to score on debut, his mazy runs and trickery brought United fans to the edge of their seats.
The 21-year-old is also aware of the long list of players in United's history who have displayed similar traits like Ryan Giggs, Ronaldo and George Best.
"I'm aware of that and I want to be as good as possible this year," Depay added. "I want to bring creative things, goals. I have to play with discipline in midfield.
“I can't lose the ball too much, but I can make risks on the sides and when I come into the third phase, then I can make my tricks and take risks."
The departures of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie have left United with just three recognised strikers in Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and James Wilson.
United looked laboured at times in attack against Spurs and struggled to create clear-cut chances but van Gaal is quite happy to go through the season with what he has up front.
"It is not a special objective for me. But when we can buy another striker who has a lot of qualities more than our players then we buy, but we have done that always," the United manager said.
Van Gaal was also asked if the club, who had a £28.6m bid for Sergio Ramos turned down by Real Madrid in July, are in the market for a centre-back and he said the club will only buy if they can improve on what they have.
"No, we have three centre-backs, we have (Paddy) McNair, Jones and (Chris) Smalling but if he is much better than them then it is possible," he said.
"We go for the best players and it has to be possible."
