Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal has revealed that he will resist the temptation to use Marouane Fellaini as the Red Devils’ first-choice striker despite the club’s troubles in front of goal.
United have now gone over five hours without scoring a goal, with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace coming after the 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup in midweek and the goalless stalemate with Manchester City the weekend before.
Wayne Rooney has lacked sharpness, Memphis Depay has struggled to impress since moving to England from the Netherlands during the summer, and Anthony Martial has shone in patches, but it remains to be seen whether he is ready to lead the line for the title hopefuls.
Fellaini has found the net in the past—both in the Premier League and in the Champions League this season against Club Brugge—and van Gaal has previously acknowledged that he would use the Belgian in a centre-forward role [Daily Mail].
However, speaking to the Manchester Evening News ahead of United’s clash with CSKA Moscow in the Champions League this week, van Gaal has insisted that he will not resort to using the former Everton man as a striker.
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“When I put him on as a striker, he is only a striker in Plan B, not Plan A,” van Gaal began.
“He has played as a striker once, against Liverpool, but that was because I had a problem [with injuries] and that is why I made him the striker from the beginning. However, that is not normal.”