Wilfried Zaha Must Become a Striker to Save Manchester United Future

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has indicated Wilfried Zaha will have to continue to impress him as a striker if he is to have a future at the club.

Zaha, 21, had been the only member of United's 25-man squad not to have made an appearance on their pre-season tour of the US until he came on as a second-half substitute during the 0-0 stalemate with Inter Milan before his side sealed a 5-3 victory on penalties.

The former Crystal Palace winger failed to get on the score sheet but showed flashes of promise, breaking through the Inter back line after 55 minutes and creating an opening through a clever back heel only for Tom Cleverley to spurn the resulting opportunity.

The youngster showed impressive movement leading the United line in his first appearance for the club in some time but van Gaal remains unconvinced of the forward's chances of forcing his way into the first team.

"I was pleased with Wilfried's performance but we have to wait and see," van Gaal told United's official website. "He has a lot of competition with other strikers."

Zaha added he was pleased to have finally been given the chance to impress his new manager and insists he will take any position he can get if it means more minutes on the pitch.

"I played alright," he said after the game. "It is not as much fun as being a winger but I will take it. There's so much pressure on me. Every chance you get you have to take. There are so many players here."

Van Gaal's penchant to play a 5-2-3 formation during the tour of the US has seen United's orthodox wingers adapting to new positions. Antonio Valencia has featured regularly at right wing-back while Ashley Young has also been tested in the same position on the left, having also been used as a lone striker in the 7-0 win over LA Galaxy.