I think he does and i would like that he would do because i think Wilson need a playing time and if we keep him we will not buy another striker. Wilson is currently recovering but he played a lot last season for a striker who is as young as him and i think he will be again in first team this season when he will be needed. Ofcourse all can change if a right player became available and we send Wilson on loan.
As for playing both strikers, we have Herrera and Pereira and even Depay to play in that number 10 position if one striker needs a rest. It a LVG choice to play both becouse both are prepared enough to play 2-3 times per week.
Sorry mate, didn't notice your post. Late reply, oops!
Herrera and Pereira are not ideal Van Gaal #10s IMO, which is why he keeps changing the setup over and over again, putting Rooney at #9, putting Rooney at #10, putting Martial at #9, putting Martial wide left. The squad is still unbalanced for his liking, which is why we see constant chopping and changing. He likes #10s who can operate like secondary strikers, or forwards, and the likes of Herrera and Pereira are midfielders. Which is why he liked Müller at Bayern and Limanen at Ajax. Which is why he tried Memphis as the point forward in pre-season. He had hoped Memphis would do well in the secondary striker role. Which is also partly why Herrera keeps getting dropped anytime his performance level drops. We need wingers, but we also need striker depth.
I think people really don't get this substitution. It is much more to change the shape of midfield from 2 DM and one AM to a midfield with only one DM, often if Rooney is AM with him starting to push more forward then before. Fellaini is capable of carring the ball forward, is quite mobile and can track back and win the ball back quickly after we lose it, is a great target man if we have a hard time to bring balls in dangerous areas and also is a great header of the ball when we cross into the box. Unforunately people notice just the last part.
What it suggests is a lack of quality striking depth. Van Gaal doesn't like to change how the team sets up up too much. He wants continuity, and players knowing their roles by playing that way over and over again to inculcate automatism. United still hasn't achieved automatism because the starting XI itself isn't settled, let alone the bench options.
In the past whenever Van Gaal was chasing a game he would bring on strikers, and when he wanted to control games he brought on midfielders, instead of regularly bringing on box to box players to chase down the opposition. eg. When Ajax were in the 1995 final, he brought on Kanu and Kluivert for Litmanen and Seedorf to add goals. When Bayern Munich were in the 2010 final he brought on Gómez and Klose to chase the game when they fell behind to Internazionale. What changed at United is that the strikers were under-performing, or they didn't fit his philosophy, or they kicked up a fuss when used as substitutes. We still don't have a striker who can influence games as a late option when we are chasing a game, something Van Gaal always had in the past. Perhaps Van Gaal feels Pérez can remedy that, who if reports are to be believed, is on the verge of featuring for the Spanish national team for the first time.
This is the real qestion, is he worth it, how big chance does he have to succed or would he be not only a flop and 10m down the drain but also would prevent us to buy the player we wanted in the summer because we will already have him.
I don't think he is worth it.
I dunno if he will be worth it to be honest, just as I wasn't sure Martial would be worth it in the summer. I too want United to sign major players like Aubameyang, Neymar or Griezmann. But players of that caliber aren't always available, especially in the winter window. Have admittedly seen only 6 or 7 Newcastle games this season, but Pérez does look a bit too good for that team, and constantly stands out. Whether that's good enough for a club of United's level I dunno, Newcastle have been terrible, and if we sign him and he turns out to be shite, I'd be proven completely wrong. But again, Van Gaal is a good talent evaluator, so if he feels Pérez can add something to the team, then maybe he's onto something. For a club of United's size, taking a £10 million punt is not a big deal. It's not like we are spending £30 million and £100,000 per week wages on him. If he washes out, we could sell him for maybe £4-5 million. If he does well, we would have a good backup for the future. Kind of a good risk/ reward situation.
And I don't believe signing a £10 million player will preclude us from chasing major players like the ones mentioned above in the summer. Every club no matter how big or small, doesn't always sign just starting caliber players. We need better starters no doubt, but we also need better substitutes and it's not an either/ or situation. We could stand to sign players for either category depending on availability instead of going linear or bust. With footballers playing so many games these days, it's always wise to invest in the squad, which is what the £10 million would represent. Also, we might not believe he is good enough, and he might fail, but there are also plenty of players who came out of nowhere to become quality footballers.
I'm not saying that will definitely happen with Pérez mind. But Laurent Koscielny had played just one season in Ligue 1 before signing for Arsenal, and now he's considered to be arguably the best central defender in the Premier League with Smalling and Kompany. Santi Cazorla was a nothing player for Villarreal and was sold to Real Club Recreativo. In his very first season at Recreativo, he emerged as one of the best players La Liga, even won the Don Balón award for best Spanish player, Villarreal bought him back for 3 times the amount of money he was sold for, and he was a major contributor for Spain in 2008 despite having never played for the national team before. David Villa was playing in Segunda division before Real Zaragoza signed him, and he became one of the best strikers in La Liga in only 1 season, and Spanish international, and eventually their highest ever scorer ahead of Raúl.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can't just sign marquee name players for the team. We also have to think about improving the squad, getting impact players, goalscorers, and all of that to build a strong squad from top to bottom. And we could stand to taking chances from time to time if Van Gaal believes the player can help the team. That's all there is to it, provided the reports are atleast semi-credible, which hasn't always been the case under Van Gaal.
