Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal hinted that he might bring in a surprise striker signing this summer to bolster his squad and become the part of the major summer overhaul at Old Trafford.
Manchester United are looking very active in this transfer window with four mega signings in the form of Memphis Depay from PSV, Matteo Darmian from Torino, Bastin Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich and Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton.
Many big names like Robert Lewandowski, Edinson Cavani, Sergio Ramos, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Gaitan, Thomas Muller, Pedro, Karim Benzema have been linked with moves to Old Trafford in this window.
But Van Gaal said that the club is looking for a striker but he is not someone whom media had written about.
“Yes, the surprise striker is in the process,” he told reporters.
“It’s not the striker the media has written.”
His comment rules out the chance of the striker being Lewandowski, Cavani, Muller, Pedro or Benzema.
So who could the surprise striker be who Van Gaal is indicating?
We bring you a list of 3 potential surprise strikers whom the Dutch manager could be referring to.
1> Klaas-Jan Huntelaar:
The 31 year old Dutch forward is well-known to Louis Van Gaal from his time as the Netherlands head coach.
Currently contracted to Schalke, the clinical finisher has a very impressive resume as he was top goal scorer four times. Twice in Dutch Eredivise, once in Bundesliga, once in Dutch second division for the respective clubs he has played.
The former Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan star could be someone Van Gaal whom Van Gaal wants to replace his compatriot Robin Van Persie who joined Fenerbahce this window.
Huntelaar is also an experienced international with 72 international caps scoring 41 goals.
2> Zlatan Ibrahimovic–
The 33 year old Sweden international had success wherever he went with two Eredivisie, six Serie A (technically four, as the two at Juventus were revoked), one La Liga and three Ligue 1.
The legendary striker has never played in English Premier League and could be willing to taste success in England also.
With age not on his side, the forward could be available at a cheaper fee and will still play at his peak for two season if not more.
The way Ed Woodward is going in this transfer window, it is not impossible to sign the Swedish captain and the duo of Zlatan and Van Gaal could be set for a reunion.
3> Bas Dost
Van Gaal called Dost up to his Netherlands squad for a friendly in 2012, and although his debut for his country arrived when LVG had left post with the national side, it’s fair to assume the 26-year-old is in his thoughts.
He scored 18 goals for Wolfsburg last season in all competitions in 30 games. Dost is a clinical finisher with gifted one touch finish.
It took a while for him to get going, but he’s just following the well-trodden path used by Edin Dzeko, who left Wolfsburg for Manchester City at 24, and Mario Mandzukic, who joined Atletico Madrid at Dost’s age.
The Dutch striker could be on his way to Old Trafford and with Wayne Rooney posied to play the first choice striker, Dost could be a perfect signing to cover the English captain.