SKY SPORTS PUNDITS Gaizka Mendieta and Guillem Balague have been impressed with Louis van Gaal’s start to life at Old Trafford and have backed the former Barca coach to have a positive influence this season on Manchester United.

Mendieta believes United could even have a big say in the title race, owing largely to the influence of the Dutch coach.

“He’s definitely going to have an impact,” the former Spanish international tells TheScore.ie. “It may be a bit early [for United] to challenge for the title. It takes a lot to change the dynamics with the way Man United have been working as a club with Ferguson, and the way Van Gaal wants things.

“But they’re definitely a team to take into consideration [in the title race] because of him. They’re not going to be playing in Europe, so they’re going to be fresh and focus on the Premier League more than other teams. They’re going to have to sign more players, which I’m sure they will. Van Gaal will bring in some players he knows well that he has confidence in.”

Balague also suggests Van Gaal will improve upon United’s dismal record under David Moyes, though he still feels others are currently looking like stronger title contenders.

“He’ll make the team competitive. It really is such an exciting year. What is Louis van Gaal going to do? Is it going to be 3-5-2? What players will he use? I’m sure he’ll make what he has better and I’m really looking forward to seeing Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs.

“Chelsea and Manchester City [are favourites]. Manchester City are limited by the budget, but they know that they only need a centre-back and a centre-midfielder and they’ve got their team, but Chelsea look really strong.”

Mendieta is similarly impressed with Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini’s respective sides.

“City will be there [in the title race]. Chelsea too, obviously. I’m looking forward to seeing Arsenal and how they’re going to cope with the new signings. I think finally with Sanchez there, they can improve on last season. The question mark for me is whether Liverpool are going to sign someone to replace Suarez and challenge. So it’s probably going to be one of the most open Premier Leagues in a long time.”

The former Valencia star is also looking forward to La Liga, with last year’s champions Atletico Madrid likely to face a big battle to retain their title, losing some key players while also witnessing their rivals strengthening.

Soccer - Real Madrid CF - James Rodriguez Unveiling - Santiago Bernabeu Gregorio Lopez Gregorio Lopez

(James Rodriguez signed for Real Madrid recently following a series of eye-catching performances for Colombia at the World Cup)

Real Madrid, in particular, have made some eyebrow-raising signings, with Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez adding to their already spectacular array of superstars.

And while Mendieta acknowledges that Real Madrid have integrated several stars successfully in the past, he feels the likes of James are not necessarily bound to be a success this year.

“If anyone can, it’s going to be Real Madrid, as they’ve proven in the past. It’s something that the manager is very good at. Keeping people calm, controlling the egos of the players, but I think Ancelotti is the right man for the job.

“It’s going to be difficult fitting all the big names into the starting XI. Looking at the new signings, Kroos, I don’t think it will interfere too much with his performances. If anything, James is the one I have my doubts about — how he’s going to fit in at Real Madrid, with Di Maria, Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema and James. You’ve got Isco on the bench. It’ll be interesting how Ancelotti will juggle all those players.”

And Mendieta, who spent a season on loan at Barcelona during his playing career, has dismissed recent suggestions that the Catalan club have forsaken their playing principles by signing Luis Suarez and thus, feels that the ex-Liverpool star is capable of fitting in seamlessly at the Nou Camp.

“Obviously, Pep Guardiola or Tito Vilanova didn’t use a number nine, but it gives other options to Barcelona. Luis Enrique played with a number nine at Celta Vigo, he played with 4-3-3, he experimented with 4-3-2-1, so he’s used number nines before, which is why he wanted a number nine.

“If you ask for the best number nine in Europe, Suarez is the player that springs to mind. I’m sure he’ll score goals, because he’s done it all his career. It’ll take time for him to settle, and again, we’re talking about egos — Messi, Neymar, Iniesta… So that’s the job of the manager, how to deal with all those names and get the best out of them.”

Former Barca player and manager Johan Cruyff was one of those who was most vocal in his criticism of Barcelona’s big-money move for Suarez, yet Balague believes the Dutch legend’s comments were dictated to an extent by his notoriously poor relationship with the club’s board.

“Don’t forget, Cruyff is an enemy of the board, so he’ll just throw out those kind of things. He threw that bomb because those three guys are veering towards individual performances, not team performances.

“But in the first year of Barcelona, the three forwards were Eto’o, Henry and Messi. So if you had them now, you wouldn’t say they’re a ‘team’. You’d think everybody’s going to play their own way, everybody’s going to be individual, but what did we see? The best collective football we’ve ever seen. So I don’t agree with Cruyff, despite all my respect for him.”

Former Spanish International footballer, Gaizka Mendieta and his fellow La Liga pundit Guillem Balague, visited Dublin with thanks to the Guinness Plus app for a special preview of the Guinness International Champions Cup pre-season tournament, which takes place in the United States until August 4th and is live on Sky Sports featuring eight of the world’s top clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid. More extraordinary rewards including unrivalled access to other Guinness events and festivals throughout 2014 will be announced in the coming weeks. The Guinness Plus App is available to download for iPhone and Android Smartphones from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store now.