Louis van Gaal has confirmed David de Gea is still not mentally fit enough to play for Manchester United.
De Gea sat out United’s season-opening win against Tottenham Hotspur last week. Van Gaal felt he was unable to focus because of speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid.
And Van Gaal has confirmed the goalkeeper will not feature in the club’s second game of the campaign, against Aston Villa on Friday night.
“No, it’s the same situation,” the United manager said when asked if De Gea would be in the squad.
Read more:
– Goalkeeper issues remain at large ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Aston Villa
– Peter Schmeichel tells Man United: If David De Gea wants to join Real Madrid ‘let him go and move on’
United are refusing to sell De Gea unless they get Sergio Ramos in return or Madrid break the record fee for a goalkeeper, which stands at £32.6 million (Dh186.6m) that Juventus paid for Gianluigi Buffon 14 years ago.
Senior sources at Old Trafford say they are happy for the 24-year-old Spaniard to run down his contract, which expires next summer, and Van Gaal is OK with the idea that the player will not play for him until the transfer window shuts on September 1. “I have said that already,” Van Gaal said.
Sergio Romero deputised for De Gea in the 1-0 win over Spurs and the Argentina goalkeeper looks set to play at Villa Park.
“Normally, yes,” was the Dutchman’s terse reply when asked if Romero would keep his place.
Another player who looks set to stay at United is Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian was linked with a move to Sunderland after being left out of the matchday squad for the Tottenham game.
When quizzed on whether he would consider letting Januzaj leave on loan, Van Gaal replied: “He is still not for sale.”
Januzaj broke into the United team during David Moyes’s only season in charge, but has started just seven league games under the Scot’s successor.
Van Gaal insists he is happy with the player, however.
He added: “I have 28 players and I have to select every week, every three days.
“Last week I choose our players. He is doing his best. All the players are, I don’t have any complaints.”
Van Gaal has no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to the Midlands.
Marouane Fellaini is suspended, Phil Jones is out with thrombosis and Marcos Rojo is still lacking match fitness.
Van Gaal is looking to put pressure on United’s rivals by winning at Villa Park.
The Dutchman feels an improvement in away form will be vital to the club’s chances of challenging for the title.
“The key for success this season is improving away matches,” said Van Gaal, who won just six times away last term.
“We were one of the best last season at home, third.
“I want to create a fortress at Old Trafford, we did that but away we have to improve and we can improve because last year we were not good.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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