Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal has slammed the recent reports regarding how much money he has to spend on players in January, labelling it “disrespectful”.

The Dutchman who took charge of United in the summer has already spent £150million on players during that transfer window, including a British record fee of £59.7million for play maker Angel Di Maria, bringing the Red Devils’ total expenditure on transfers to £211million since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in the summer of 2013.

Despite this, the 20-time champions of England have been constantly linked with big-money moves for a number of high-profile players with reports in several British newspapers claiming they are about to offer their 63-year-old head coach another cash windfall to aid their hunt for trophies, something the former Netherlands boss was quick to dismiss.

He said: “I think it’s disgusting always writing about numbers. I don’t think (executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward said anything about it and nor have I.”

The former Barcelona coach also believes that the speculation will have an adverse affect on the players he currently has at his disposal, as well as inflating any transfer deals the three-time champions of Europe may actually want to make in January.

He continued: “It is disrespectful to my players and I don’t like to talk about it. I have to work with the selection I have and I have respect for that. I believe in players, so that is my answer.”

United have been in fine form of late defeating the likes of Arsenal and Stoke in a four-match winning streak to move back into contention in the Premier League and are on offer at 27.00 to win their 21st English league crown.