The footballing world was stunned to discover Cody Gakpo would be making a move to the Premier League but not to don the red of Manchester United earlier this week.
For months it seemed as if the ex-PSV Eindhoven star was destined to line up at Old Trafford under the guidance of a fellow Dutchman in Erik ten Hag. However, following some late intervention from the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Jurgen Klopp, Gakpo has since been unveiled as a Liverpool player.
There is fear among the United fanbase that Gakpo's decision to choose Merseyside over Manchester could spell trouble for the Red Devils' forward line this season, with Ten Hag's men already one striker down following Cristiano Ronaldo's controversial exit last month.
Goals have been an issue for United so far this term, with only Chelsea bagging less than them out of any side currently situated inside the top 10. In turn, this means the likes of Fulham and Brentford have as things stand found the net more than the 13-time Premier League winners.
Plenty of names have been linked with a move to Old Trafford to try and be the player to fire United back to their former glories, but Gakpo seemed like the one that made the most sense.
However, he may not have been the one that Ten Hag actually had his heart set on, with reports dating back as far as September that the United manager had actually formed a three-man shortlist of Ronaldo replacements that did not feature Gakpo's name.
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Instead, the former Ajax coach has found alternatives from both the Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
The three figures rumoured to be in the sights of the United boss are Lille's Jonathan David, Bayer Leverkusen talisman Patrik Schick and Lyon star Moussa Dembele.
Atletico Madrid forward and former Golden Boy winner Joao Felix was another name thrown into the ring, but any move for the 23-year-old is likely to be a temporary one on loan until the end of the season - though the La Liga titans still want his entire salary covered and an £8million loan fee.
Ten Hag is thought to view the likes of David, Schick and Dembele as superior fits to the tactical set-up he deploys at United when compared to a forward player like Felix.
They would also command a similar sort of fee to the £37m Liverpool forked out on Gakpo, though David and Schick could come in a tad higher purely down to the fact that their contracts with Lille and Bayer Leverkusen do not end until 2025 and 2027 respectively.
It remains to be seen what kind of tricks Ten Hag has up his sleeve for the upcoming January transfer window, but United need a forward and fast.
