Louis van Gaal has revealed he did not want to move for Memphis Depay before the end of the season but claimed he was forced into doing so to avoid Paris Saint-Germain beating Manchester United to his signature.

On Thursday United announced the signing of the 21-year-old Holland international from PSV for a fee in the region of £25m but with Van Gaal’s side, currently in fourth place, still to cement their place in next season’s Champions League, the manager admitted he did not want the distraction before the end of the season.

“I have been forced to sign him. I don’t want to sign him before the end of the season,” said Van Gaal. “We have to focus on our games. When you sign a player you disturb the focus of your present group of players.

“The coming matches are very important for Manchester United and for all of the players. But because of the market, I have to handle – I must handle it – because otherwise he would have signed for PSG. That is why I signed Memphis.”