To Dost or not to Dost?

Perhaps Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost was using reverse psychology in his interview with German newspaper BILD, two days ago.

"I have flat feet," he admitted when talking about his footwear. A compelling thought, but even more so when he strikes four times with predatory instincts in the penalty box to down Bayer Leverkusen 5-4 in the dying stages. Plus, the speed in which he dashed to the away block at the BayArena would suggest his feet are just fine.

In a similar vein, I wrote last week how Tranquillo Barnetta and Valentin Stocker were enjoying mini-renaissances at their respective clubs - and Dost is another example of the fluctuating nature of top-class performers.

While 12 goals in two seasons isn't a terrible record, the Dutch striker was expected to deliver instantly, with the standards of Edin Dzeko held in comparison. He didn't quite look at home and was second, sometimes third, in line for a jersey. Dost has struggled to solidify his spot ahead of the likes of Srdjan Lakic, Patrick Helmes and Nicklas Bendtner.

But over the last few months, Dost has been in his richest vein of form since arriving in Germany, scoring seven in four games in 2015. He's hit nine across the season, after returning from injury in October. Maybe that recuperation period has done him the world of good.

The 25-year-old showed his craft of scoring so many different types of goals on Saturday in Leverkusen - the first stemming from Vieirinha's deep cross with Dost throwing himself into the air to head past Leno. The second was more of the delicate nature; the Dutchman moved to the near-post and nonchalantly clipped the ball to opposite corner.

The third, which restored their two-goal lead at 4-2, was a piercing team move with De Bruyne combining on the left with Rodriguez before the Swiss left-back delivered an inch-perfect cross for the Dutchman who timed his arrival perfectly at the back-post. The winner, likewise, was about timing and he skipped ahead of the Leverkusen goalkeeper to snatch the points.

Saturday was the sort of exhibition in finishing that made him so valuable to Dutch side Heerenveen. There's little doubt that Dost has so far been the flawless replacement for Olic - but Wolfsburg's ambitions are high.

This is a club, after all, that has spent 30 million euros on Andre Schürrle, 25 million euros on De Bruyne and were reportedly looking to bring back Mario Mandzukic in his final days at Bayern Munich.

Whether Dost can truly cement his place as Wolfsburg's leading marksmen remains to be seen - the scoring rate is impressive but he's certainly not a definite in this team.