Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij feels the only reason he continues to be linked with Manchester United is because Louis van Gaal is the English club's manager.
De Vrij enjoys a good relationship with Van Gaal and the manager regularly trusted the centre-back when he was in charge of the Netherlands national team, the job he held before he took over at Manchester United last year.
The Red Devils are regularly linked with De Vrij, but the defender insists that there has never been any approach from Manchester United.
And he feels the links only persist because of Van Gaal's presence at Old Trafford.
"I am continually being linked with Manchester United because Louis van Gaal is their manager", the Dutchman explained to Italian daily Il Messaggero.
relatedNewsStory
"A lot of Dutch players are being linked with Manchester United, but there has never been anything in it. All I want at this stage is to win things with Lazio."
De Vrij was lauded for his performances with Lazio last season and the Italian side received plaudits for having won the race to snap him up from Dutch outfit Feyenoord.
It remains to be seen whether Van Gaal does choose to make a move for De Vrij, a defender he knows well, in the future.
