"OVERMARS SIGNED 3 MONTHS AGO"
Arsene Wenger`s concerns that the ex-Ajax man has been the subject of an illegal approach were well documented, as was the fact that the move was in the pipeline by planetfootball.com, and the Frenchman will be displeased with van Gaal`s revelation.
Although it is common practice in today`s game, players are technically not allowed to speak with other clubs until they are given permission by their current employers, and Overmars was clearly heading for Camp Nou some time ago.
"Overmars and Gerard are my signings," van Gaal told Sport newspaper. "As for Overmars, we had him tied up three months ago, and Gerard was on my high-priority list of targets."
The left winger was keen to link up with his compatriot van Gaal, but still agreed to switch to Barca after reportedly signing a pre-contract. This was despite firm interest from Lazio who instead struck an agreement with the Catalan club for Boudewijn Zenden.
Emmanuel Petit was not a player targeted by van Gaal, the former Ajax coach admitted, but it seems the in-roads he made in the transfer market did bear fruition in terms of both Overmars and Valencia`s Spanish sensation Gerard.
