Louis van Gaal can’t make his mind up.
[ MORE: Mourinho reveals top target ]
First he said Manchester United may make a “surprise” move for a striker. Then he told the media that “striker” was somebody nobody has written about. And now van Gaal has claimed the “surprise” signing for United is not a striker at all.
If this is some sort of smokescreen from LVG, it is an extremely elaborate one.
Following United’s 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes in an International Champions Cup match on Tuesday, van Gaal spoke in his post-game press conference and was asked who this “surprise” striker may be.
“I don’t know if I want to buy a striker. I have read in the media that a striker is the surprise. No, that I have not said,” van Gaal said. “You are saying that, because my answer is like that. No, I mean something else.”
Rumors in the gossip columns on Wednesday have suggested Fernando Llorente, Juventus’ 30-year-old Spanish forward, was the man United were trying to sign, but van Gaal’s latest comments now have everyone guessing once again.
As for United’s preseason preparations, they ran out comfortable winners against MLS outfit San Jose at the Avaya Stadium with goals from Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Andreas Pereira doing the damage, but the Dutch boss was far from happy. Van Gaal lamented the display of his side who played in the second half and said new signing Bastian Schweinsteiger “played badly, but that is also a process when you only have one week of training.”
United have just two more matches before their season begins on Aug. 8 at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur (Watch live, 7:45 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via Live Extra), with ICC matches against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain coming up.
