Louis van Gaal's problems are piling up at Manchester United... Something's wrong with Angel di Maria, nowhere to fit Radamel Falcao and the need for a £30m defender

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Louis van Gaal left the John Ruddy Suite with a derisory chuckle. No, he did not regret giving Wayne Rooney a breather and he could not believe anyone had the temerity to suggest that might actually be the case.

Rooney has played 25 times this season and had not scored since Boxing Day. ‘I gave him and Juan Mata a rest, just like I did with Michael Carrick and Robin van Persie at Yeovil,’ said Van Gaal, before the Manchester United manager departed the makeshift media room at the R Costings Abbey Stadium, tutting and shaking his head. ‘I am not regretting it.’

The Dutchman’s expensively-assembled team had just been held by Cambridge United, recently returned to the Football League after a nine-year exile and mid-table in League Two with a side patched together from free transfers, academy products and loan recruits.

Louis van Gaal was left frustrated after Manchester United's draw with Cambridge United

Van Gaal walks from the pitch at full time frustrated after his side drew 0-0 against Cambridge United

‘We have an extra match, but we are still in the Cup, that’s the most important thing,’ said Van Gaal.

Cambridge would enjoy a long night as they celebrated the 0-0 draw and a fourth round replay at Old Trafford worth up to £1.75million — on top of the £250,000 from the original tie, which was watched by more than seven million viewers on BBC One.

Manchester United returned north, safe in the knowledge they were still in the FA Cup and unlikely to fail in the replay, but with issues still to iron out.

Issues such as how to get misfiring striker Radamel Falcao into the groove, where to get the best from Angel di Maria and whether anyone other than Phil Jones might be capable of taking the corners. 

United have sounded out French champions Paris Saint-Germain ahead of a possible summer move for the stylish Marquinhos, but they have been warned the defender will not come cheap.

Angel di Maria struggled to impress for Manchester United against Cambridge United

Radamel Falcao had a another frustrating night in a Manchester United shirt against Cambridge

The 20-year-old central defender joined PSG 18 months ago from Roma in a £23.4million deal but has found himself playing at right-back to accommodate the arrival of David Luiz this season. United value Marquinhos at around £30m but PSG have laughed off those figures. 

His agent Giuliano Bertolucci said: ‘Last summer, PSG’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared that Marquinhos was unsellable. We will see what their position is this summer. Many clubs are interested in the player. Manchester United are one of them, this is true.’

Cambridge players rubbed in a little salt, claiming they had not been overawed and did not feel uncomfortable during Friday’s tie.

Cameron McGeehan (left) of Cambridge United tackles Michael Carrick of Manchester United

Man-of-the-match Ryan Donaldson and team-mate Tom Champion celebrating at full time

‘We were under the cosh for almost all the second half but we’ve got a good resilience about us in the squad and I didn’t feel we were in too much trouble,’ said their former Newcastle midfielder Ryan Donaldson. ‘They had a couple of chances, but I thought we were reasonably comfortable. We deserved a draw, definitely.

‘We found a bit of space in the first half and passed it quite well. There were a few gaps we managed to exploit. We won a few set-pieces and came really close on one, with Josh Coulson.

‘If that had gone in, who knows what would’ve happened. But we can’t complain too much. To be go-ing up there as a Cambridge player is incredible. If you’d told me that when I signed 18 months ago, I’d have laughed in your face, but it’s happening and we’ll enjoy it.’

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney was rested for the trip to Cambridge on Friday

As was midfielder Juan Mata, who is expected to return to the fold ahead of the Premier League next week

The journey for Cambridge captain Tom Champion has been in the opposite direction, having climbed through non-League football.

‘I definitely came the hard way,’ said 28-year-old. ‘Thinking back to the days when I worked in an office nine-to-five is surreal. We can take a lot of pride from getting the club here, doing ourselves justice.

‘We knew the longer it stayed 0-0, the more frustrated they’d get. In the second half, we knew we’d be without the ball for much longer periods. We had to defend well.

‘When you see the firepower they ended up with — Van Persie, Falcao, Di Maria — the boys can be proud and there’s a big reward to come up at Old Trafford.’