Manchester United’s potential move for Pedro has stalled as he considers the managerial style of Louis van Gaal, with the Dutchman having fallen out with Víctor Valdés, the Spanish goalkeeper who is a good friend of the Barcelona forward.

Van Gaal’s recent handling of David de Gea’s future is also a factor in Pedro taking stock of his options. The United No1 has been dropped from the side – with Sergio Romero keeping his place in goal in the 1-0 victory at Villa Park on Friday night – and the manager this week claimed De Gea told the club he did not wish to play as he is distracted due to Real Madrid’s interest. However, De Gea is bemused by Van Gaal’s handling of the situation and Pedro has noted the manager’s stance in relation to another of his compatriots.

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Pedro has a release clause of €30m (£21.3m) yet, having previously been minded to join United, he is now deliberating. The forward has been on Manchester City’s radar and while the club are not currently pursuing a deal to take the 28-year-old to the Etihad, Pedro may offer a fall-back option should a deal fail to be struck with Wolfsburg for Kevin De Bruyne, who is City’s first choice.

Van Gaal left Valdés out of United’s summer tour of America as the manager was unhappy with his attitude in refusing to play for the reserve team last season. Yet the 33-year-old did make some appearances for the reserves. Valdés is a friend of Pedro’s from his time at Barça when each were part of Pep Guardiola’s successful team.

While Pedro could still decide to join United, De Gea’s future at the club is in the balance. It is understood he trained with the reserve squad this week and there would be some surprise if the 24-year-old is still a United player when the transfer window closes on 1 September.

Van Gaal’s decision to go public on Thursday regarding De Gea has compounded the view. Then, he said: “We talked with him [De Gea] and he fully agreed with our decision. Frans Hoek [United’s goalkeeping coach] – he has a meeting with David de Gea and he asked him: ‘Do you want to play?’” Asked what the response was, Van Gaal said: “‘No.’ Then I have to take the decision.”