Louis van Gaal has reportedly claimed that his current assistant boss Ryan Giggs will succeed him as Manchester United manager in the future.

The Dutchman, who comes to the end of his contract in the summer of 2017, is said to have made the claim during a fan event at the Old Trafford cricket ground on Wednesday night.

According to Twitter user Andrew Curran, who was at the event, Van Gaal was discussing the £36m fee spent on deadline-day signing Anthony Martial when he said: "Yes I spend a lot of money on Martial, but I buy him for my successor Ryan Giggs."

Giggs spent his entire playing career at United, winning 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies and four FA Cups, before retiring last year.

Meanwhile, Van Gaal has dismissed the team's chances of winning the Premier League title this season.