Five things Manchester United must resolve before Premier League resumes

How long to persevere with Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney’s form is no longer the elephant in the room at Old Trafford. With the United captain approaching his thirtieth birthday this month, his lack of goals and form has now become an open debate.

Van Gaal has been staunch in his defence of Rooney, insisting he remains an important part of the team and confident that he will deliver the 20 league goals that he expects from his first-choice centre-forward. 

But Rooney has scored just
one league goal this season and he looks well short of the required sharpness in a United shirt.

Van Gaal has been ruthless in the past, and he showed that streak by getting rid of Robin van Persie during the summer. 

  If Rooney continues to fail to deliver, how long can Van Gaal persevere with his struggling captain? 

Luke Shaw’s nightmare first season at United appeared a distant memory during the early weeks of this campaign, with the 20-year-old making the left-back position his own prior to the horrific leg injury suffered against PSV Eindhoven last month.

But without Shaw, Van Gaal has been left with a problem for which he has no obvious, or reliable, solution. 

Already, the United manager has used Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young at left-back and none has convinced.

All have their negatives with Blind, the most comfortable at left-back, too valuable at centre-half to risk moving to full-back.

Shaw had brought such certainty, but Van Gaal somehow needs to find a way to make up for his loss. 

Time to lose the caution?

Throughout this season, Van Gaal has persisted with two holding midfielders, regardless of the opposition.

But there have been times this term when United have simply been too defensively-minded as a result of Van Gall deploying two of Michael Carrick, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin in front of the back four. 

Against Sunderland at Old Trafford recently, the Wearsiders almost held out until half-time due to United lacking the extra attacking personnel to break them down.

Two holding midfielders will be crucial against the strongest opponents, but Van Gaal may have to play just one of them against weaker teams.

Three games that could shape the season

Van Gaal and United cannot afford to dip their toe into the water when the Premier League resumes after the international break because they face three of their toughest possible fixtures between now and the end of the month.

Everton away -- the scene of three successive league defeats -- comes straight after the international fixtures, while Manchester City visit Old Trafford on October 25, just three days after United return from a draining Champions League trip to CSKA Moscow. 

Once the City game is out of the way, it is Selhurst Park for a meeting with in-form Crystal Palace, so the October fixture list is a big one for United.

Having already lost at Arsenal this month, United could conceivably suffer three more defeats unless they are ready for their tough tests, so Van Gaal and his players face three potentially season-defining games.

Where to strenghten in January

Van Gaal has spent over £250m on new players since succeeding David Moyes in the summer of 2014 and United have more money to spend if required in January. 

At some point, the spending has to stop and the new players must prove their worth, but there is a clear sense that Van Gaal’s United still remain short of the very best players.

Whether they can be signed in January is another matter, but with Luke Shaw likely to miss the rest of the campaign with a broken leg, a reliable replacement is surely a priority. 

And if Wayne Rooney’s goalscoring woe continues, then Van Gaal may also need to find another striker.

After a solid start to the season, Van Gaal will know that January could see the addition of the crucial ingredients which will see United become genuine challengers.