Louis van Gaal (Photo : Reuters)
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal announced that the "surprise" signing for this summer he was recently talking about will not necessarily be a striker, according to ESPN.
Last week, the 63-year-old Dutch coach told reporters that the club is planning to do an unexpected signing to reinforce its striking options for the upcoming season.
At the moment, van Gaal has team captain Wayne Rooney as his only legitimate scoring threat, with Ángel Di María possibly moving out of Old Trafford anytime soon.
The signing of Dutch forward Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven and the re-entry of Mexican forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernández in the team's lineup may help Rooney up front, but the two are more of a winger or attacking midfielder types than a striker.
The Red Devils have let go of two seasoned strikers, Robin van Persie (to Turkish club Fenerbahçe) and Radamel Falcao (on loan to Chelsea from Monaco), and so far have not added anyone as replacement.
Apart from Depay, United's three other new acquisitions were for the defender and midfielder positions, namely Matteo Darmian (Torino), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton), and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich).
In a press conference after the team's 3-1 victory over MLS team San Jose Earthquakes, van Gaal admitted that he was having second thoughts on acquiring a striker after Depay's marvelous performance, as per The Guardian.
The former Bayern and Netherlands national team manager also fooled around with the media for a little bit by saying that they are the ones who had been suggesting that Rooney should play as a striker. Now that he has obliged, he asked why they were questioning him again, adding that "I don't know what you want."
