COMMENT: Louis van Gaal's bluffing, right? There's no way he'd be comfortable going into the new season with his attack as it is.
The Manchester United manager must be indulging in some kideology. How can he be happy entering a campaign as Wayne Rooney being his only nailed on, senior goalscorer. Yes, he's name-checked Javier Hernandez and James Wilson. But the former returns to United after a difficult year with Real Madrid and the latter is still unproven at first team level. This isn't an attack to win the league with.
And what if Rooney should break down? Where would that leave Van Gaal's plans?
No, you can't take Van Gaal's claims seriously. After losing Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie, he needs at least one striker signing before the summer market shuts.
With Chicharito back in the fold, it's unlikely to be a fox-in-the-box type. Van Gaal will be looking for a mobile centre-forward. More Robert Lewandowski than Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Muller. Think Edison Cavani at PSG or Tottenham's Harry Kane. Both of whom have attracted tentative enquiries from United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward since the end of last season.
The money is there for Van Gaal. But after last season, the question is: will he bottle it?
With Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie now gone - and Angel di Maria AWOL and about to put pen to paper on a PSG contract - Van Gaal's ability to bring out the best in United's attacking talent has to be questioned. Yes, Rooney was excellent last season - and struck today against Barcelona. But his form revival was inspired by the management of David Moyes, not United's current incumbent.
Falcao, Di Maria and Van Persie - on paper we're talking about three of the best attacking players in the game. Yet under Van Gaal, they failed. Each had their own particular set of circumstances; but the simple truth is LVG couldn't get a tune out of three of the biggest names on the planet. Where he failed with Falcao, could he succeed with Cavani? Or what about his past relationship with Muller? Is this really a factor when you consider how the Van Persie friendship has been shattered?
Van Gaal has raised the prospect of Memphis Depay playing centrally alongside Rooney. Indeed, sources close to the Eredivisie Golden Boot say the plan has been discussed between manager and player. But this isn't the answer. If Van Gaal was to ignore the market and go with Depay as a striker, it won't be long before United fans see the Rooney - Marouane Fellaini combination again.
Last season, even with Falcao and RVP available, the Belgian represented Van Gaal's best option at centre-forward. And nothing has changed since.
Van Gaal has stated he sees Rooney as his first-choice striker. But he also believes - as does Rooney - that the club captain is at his best playing behind a leading centre-forward. The Dutchman's possession game, with Rooney taking part in the build-up and arriving late in attack, won't reach its zenith until he can find a goalscorer capable of playing with his back to goal.
But again, like with Depay, perhaps Van Gaal is happy to go with what he has? Fellaini could be his target man. The arrivals of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin have marked the Belgian's card. It's unlikely he'll be preferred in midfield ahead of either new signing. Centre-forward could be Fellaini's one chance of a long-term future at Old Trafford.
But in terms of United's attacking potential, this changes virtually nothing. Rooney, with Fellaini so impressive in his advanced role, finished the campaign United's leading scorer - with 12 goals. It's a stretch to expect Depay to match that figure in his first season in England. And Chicharito's best season haul in Europe was 13 goals - four years ago.
Which all points to the need for a new centre-forward signing.
Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, has made it clear through intermediaries that United can forget Kane - for this summer, at least. At Bayern, the only way either Muller or Lewandowski will be allowed to leave is if they can be convinced to slap in a transfer demand.
But Cavani is suddenly in play. PSG have insisted during negotiations over Di Maria that the Uruguayan is not for sale. But in the last 24 hours, things have changed.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has declared he now intends to play out the final year of his PSG deal, meaning another 12 months for Cavani playing second fiddle to the Swede. But with Di Maria arriving, the Uruguayan's position becomes even more uncertain.
Can Cavani be sure of even another season out of position on the wing with Di Maria now a teammate? And how will it go down if coach Laurent Blanc chooses to play the Argentine centrally, behind Ibra?
At 28, Cavani is his own man and now entering the peak of his career. But we were saying the same about Falcao 12 months ago. The question is, can Van Gaal succeed with this South American where he flopped with three of the world's best?
INJURY TIME
No surprise that Angel Gomes was named MVP for this month's Nike Premier Cup.
Gomes captained Manchester United for the tournament, but while his team struggled to a 12th place finish, the competition's coaches voted him their MVP.
Still only 14, the natural No10 finished last season in Paul McGuinness' U18 team. United coaching staff are convinced they have something special on their hands.
Gomes is the son of former pro Gil, who won the U20 World Cup with Portugal playing alongside Luis Figo and Paulo Sousa.
Despite his Portuguese roots, Gomes does qualify for England, with his Dad having put down roots in Manchester. Gil has played for Salford City and done some coaching at United.