Manchester United are in the process of signing a new striker, but manager Louis van Gaal has insisted he is not a forward the club have been strongly linked with.
Van Gaal cryptically noted the target is “not a striker that the media has written (about)” – appearing to rule out Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Paris St Germain’s Edinson Cavani.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at five other strikers who might be on the Dutchman’s radar.
ALVARO MORATA
Cast aside by Real Madrid last summer, Morata enjoyed a memorable 2014-15 as Juventus nearly won the treble in his first season in Turin. He has a knack of scoring in big games – netting in both legs of the Champions League semi-finals against his old club and in the final against Barcelona – and has the physical attributes needed to cope with the hurly-burly of English top-flight football. The snag? Morata is unlikely to come cheap with four years left on the 22-year-old’s five-year deal, plus Madrid have a buy-back option.
MAURO ICARDI
The joint-top scorer in Serie A last year recently signed a contract extension to keep him at Inter Milan until 2019, not that his new deal will deter Europe’s top clubs if the 22-year-old replicates his recent form. He accrued 22 league goals and was the division’s leading scorer alongside the evergreen Luca Toni, despite the fact Inter only finished eighth. In Manchester derbies, United’s scourge has often been Manchester City’s Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero. Maybe they will be able to fight fire with fire next term?
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG
Van Gaal has been strongly linked with Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan but perhaps it was all just a ruse to put people off the scent of the Borussia Dortmund player he really wants? Aubameyang has helped Dortmund get over the lose of Lewandowski with two goal-laden campaigns in Germany, finding the net 42 times in 95 games since moving from St Etienne. The Gabon international is also versatile – equally adept at playing out wide – a characteristic Van Gaal tends to covet in players.
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE
Sure Lyon’s French international recently hinted he would be willing to stay for another season leading up to Euro 2016 in his own country, but U-turns are all the rage, just ask Fabian Delph. Nobody scored more than Lacazette’s 27 goals in Ligue 1 last season – not even Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and Lyon have a history of selling their best players. United missed out on Michael Essien and Karim Benzema in the Sir Alex Ferguson era and need to land top targets even more now they are playing catch up.
KEVIN VOLLAND
One of Europe’s most promising young forwards has already broken into the senior team of the World Cup holders and was the second top scorer at this summer’s European Under-21 Championships. Last term Volland managed double figures for a Hoffenheim squad that included new Liverpool signing Roberto Firmino, while he also chipped in with five assists in the Bundesliga. Another who can play in multiple positions in attack, he would have an excellent mentor in former prodigy Wayne Rooney.
