Louis Van Gaal says Ryan Giggs will be his future successor at Manchester United

Louis Van Gaal has been so impressed with Ryan Giggs as his assistant coach at Manchester United that the Dutch manager has tabbed Giggs as his likely successor.

Giggs, who already has some experience in the role after taking over as interim manager last season when manager David Moyes was fired, was kept on at the club when Van Gaal arrived, and his familiarity with the squad has earned him plenty of praise from the first-year manager.

"[When] this Van Gaal is over, he [Giggs] is the man [to replace me]," Van Gaal told an audience at a charity tribute dinner for Giggs at Old Trafford, per the Telegraph.

"I have seen a lot of trainees and I have thought that Ryan Giggs is a trainee but he isn't a trainee, he is an exception. I have seen a lot of trainees and I am very happy with him because he has showed already that he can communicate with the group in front of him.

"And I have seen that he can explain what is the issue of the training session. And he can say it in a different way, which is a miracle because not so many ex-players can do that. But not only that, Ryan, you are in my opinion a very nice guy and that's for me the most important thing."

It seems like a perfect match since Giggs has been with the club since 1990, when he signed his first professional contract, but he might have to wait some time before dreams of becoming a manager at United become a reality since Van Gaal is less than a year into his tenure as boss of the Red Devils.

However there's still plenty for Giggs to learn and there are few managers around the world who can provide better mentoring assistance than Van Gaal.