catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
Embolo, Milik, Lacazette would be high on my wishlist.
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No habla Inglés
Player Valuation: £225k
Freedom of speech dude.
EFCccc
Player Valuation: £15m
If we could keep him fit, and get him at a good price then yes.
Come on lads, I'm sure we can agree that nationality is irrelevant when referring to the quality of a player.
Leave it now please.
Tricky Trevor 7
Player Valuation: £1m
Johnny , phew , how long did that take to write , had 100% on my battery . By the time I'd finished it. It run out of power .I don't think anyone thinks Niasse will be a ready made replacement for Rom, so have been doing a little research on potential replacements. I'm thinking we go young because most established centre forwards worth having are going to want, and get Champions League football.
So to get the ball rolling...
Sardar Azmoun - 21 // IRAN // ROSTOV (ON LOAN FROM RUBIN KAZAN)
Height: 6′ 0″
Introduction: Around this time last season, Sardar Azmoun was dubbed as the “Iranian Lionel Messi”. That quote tells you all you need to know about Azmoun. He’s one of the best young players from Iran, with an impressive scoring record for his national team. He scored 7 goals in 11 appearances for Iran in 2015 alone. His goals have been important for his country with goals in World Cup qualifiers against India, Guam and Turkmenistan as well as scoring in a crucial Asian Cup clash with Qatar. The Rubin Kazan striker on loan to FK Rostov in Russia has great characteristics that allow him to have so much international success. He also has 3 goals in 5 starts for Rostov at the time of writing.
AzmounAnalysis: With pretty impressive height and physique, Azmoun is often one of the bigger players on the pitch. He combines his impressive size with terrific leaping ability and agility. This combination of size and athletic ability makes Azmoun a great aerial threat. He gives defenders of all sizes problems in the air and wins a lot of headers on set pieces and crosses. Besides his heading ability, Azmoun is also a great finisher in the box. Most of his goals for Rostov have come from great finishes inside of the 6 yard box. His finishing ability is why he’s had so much success with the Iranian National Team. He takes his chances while being a constant threat inside of the box. Azmoun is always available for his teammates in the box.
The youngster is a versatile tactical striker for club and country. For Iran he’s played in a two striker set up and as a lone striker. He’s had success in both set ups with two goals against Guam in a 4-4-2, and a goal against Qatar as a solo striker. Azmoun in a two striker set can hold the ball up, or head it on to the other striker. When he plays by himself up top, he usually makes smart runs into the box and waits for a cross. Either set up allows him to use his aerial ability, and get chances in the box. As a result, he constantly gets amongst the goals for Iran.
Looking ahead: Already an established international, Azmoun should become undroppable for Iran by the time the 2018 World Cup rolls around. For his club, Azmoun needs better performances so he can consistently get into the first team. He’ll try to make a name for himself at Rubin Kazan after establishing himself in the starting eleven. He can then become one of the Russian Premier League’s best strikers.
Cyle Larin - 20 // CANADA // ORLANDO CITY
Height: 6′ 2″
Introduction: After being picked #1 overall in the MLS superdraft, Cyle Larin has quickly become a top prospect. A full Canadian international, his rookie season fully justified Orlando’s selection. He scored 17 goals in 27 games, a rookie record. He easily won Rookie of the Year in the MLS because of his performances. He has been a top Canadian prospect for a long time, and has trained with a lot of European clubs. After the season he had last year, if he keeps scoring the way he has, a European career is certainly in his future.
LarinAnalysis: Larin’s terrific rookie season was inevitable because of his characteristics. As a youth player, he was described as a “modern striker able to finish from all areas”. Larin was exactly that last season for Orlando. According to whoscored.com, he only averaged 2 shots per game despite his 17 goals. His low shot total displays just how brilliant he was taking his chances in front of goal. When Orlando played well and scored goals, he was always the one finishing off the build up. When Larin had 5 goals in 2 games for Orlando last season, the team had 5 goals against their name. When he didn’t score for 3 straight matches, Orlando City as a team scored zero goals. Orlando’s reliance on Larin’s finishing displays just how good he was for them last season.
Besides his finishing, Larin is a very big and strong striker with a decent amount of weight on him. He uses his strength to play short passes to his teammates to start the build up. His stature helps him win the ball and hold the ball up. It will be interesting to see if Larin can bully European defenders the way he did in the MLS last season.
Due to Larin’s characteristics, older style tactics fit his style best. Either the classic 4-4-2 formation or the 4-1-4-1 fit him best. These would allow his teammates to do most of the buildup for him. These tactics would allow Larin to get a lot of chances in the air and on the ground. He would get through-balls from the midfield and close range finishes like Jamie Vardy does for Leicester City. When Larin is able to get consistent chances close to goal, he is certainly at his best.
Looking ahead: With one great season already behind him, the next step in his career is to become a MLS MVP candidate. Doing this would ensure a European career for Larin, all assuming he wants to play in Europe. If he elects to remain in his home continent of North America, Larin could become a MLS legend. Already an established Canadian international, Larin has the ability to become a Landon Donovan type figure for Canada.
Vincent Janssen - 21 // AZ Alkmaar // Netherlands
Height: 5′ 11″
27 goals in just 32 starts this season. It isn’t Ronaldo, Messi or Neymar, it’s Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar with those stats. The top scorer of the Eredivisie this season by some margin, Janssen has made a name for himself with his speed, accurate shooting, and intelligent running. He even got the chance to make an impression on the international stage, helping Holland win away in England with a goal and an assist. Of course, who can forget his 4 goal haul recently against Zwolle in a decimation led by him. Janssen will now be out to prove that he isn’t just a one season wonder, and we certainly hope he can succeed.
The 60-second story
This time last year, Vincent Janssen was plying his trade in sparsely filled stadiums in the second division of Dutch football. A whirlwind 12 months later, the 21-year-old finds himself the top scorer in the Eredivisie, with two national team caps and an international goal to his name already.
Sought after by clubs domestically and abroad, the AZ Alkmaar man is seen as the prime candidate to receive the torch from Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Janssen seems to be on the cusp of potentially being the first top-class Dutch striker in a while.
Why you need to know him
He’s now on course to become the first player in 52 years to score 20 goals in the second half of an Eredivisie season. Janssen’s rise has been a surprise, since he was never touted as a big thing in his youth. In his age group at Feyenoord, the 21-year-old was never earmarked for the first team and in the summer of 2013, was released. But as his family noted in Helden magazine, optimism has always been 'Vince’s' attitude; his go-to expression is ‘Komt goed’, which translates roughly to ‘It'll be alright’.
And that it proved. As soon as Janssen was a free agent he was snapped up by second-tier side Almere City, and over the course of the next two seasons netted 32 goals in 74 games for the Zwarte Schapen.
Most agree that Janssen’s work ethic is a standout quality; Almere coach Fred Grim, an ex-Ajax youth coach, recognised and encouraged it. In his own time, Janssen would study other strikers like Huntelaar – who also took a step down to the second tier before rocketing up again – for how he functioned when in space, or after loss of possession. Janseen observed how Luuk de Jong ran into the box to meet crosses and following this, would attempt to apply his newly acquired knowledge on the training ground.
As the summer of 2015 beckoned, AZ were resigned to losing attacking talent in Steve Berghuis and Aron Johannsson. Their technical manager, Earnie Stewart, went down to Yanmar Stadion to watch Jansenn and returned with a glowing report; manager John van den Brom called the player incessantly, persuading him to join AZ over Heerenveen. Janssen didn't score in his first 367 minutes for AZ in the league but soon began to find the back of the net, starting with a brace against Twente. It was after the winter break, though, that Janssen truly exploded onto the scene.Six goals in the first three matches of the year, including a typical hat-trick against Feyenoord, was followed by a streak of scoring in seven consecutive matches. He’s now on course to become the first player in 52 years to score 20 goals in the second half of an Eredivisie season.
Janssen made his international debut as a substitute in the friendly against France. In the following game, Danny Blind showed faith and started the 21-year-old against England at Wembley. Provided with the stage, Janssen delivered a man-of-the-match performance, scoring his first international goal — a virtually unsaveable penalty — and providing the assist for Luciano Narsingh’s winner.
Strengths
Janssen is not only a finisher and has a good range of passing and movement on and off the ball.
Janssen has a reasonable amount of pace and is equally comfortable with both feet, which makes him rather unpredictable. It is, however, an unpredictability that is not flashy nor complicated; just as he looks like a nondescript twenty-something guy, his football also functions on a principle of simplicity.
His strength on the ball is commendable too, as two Slovakian centre-backs Branislav Ninaj and Milan Skriniar will testify from a U21 Euro qualifier in late 2015. A fantastic pass from Hans Hateboer found Janssen, whose run split the two centre-backs; as they converged upon him, Janssen accelerated precisely at the right moment to skip away, go past the onrushing keeper and deliver a side-footed finish.
Janssen is not only a finisher but has a good range of passing and movement on and off the ball. He can pick up the ball anywhere along the horizontal space in the final third and either storm down on goal himself or bring his team-mates into play with his back to goal. One of his best performances this season came against Feyenoord – of course – when he unabashedly terrorised his former youth team-mate Sven van Beek. Janssen played his part in the first goal and then got himself a hat-trick to rub salt in the Rotterdammers’ wounds.
Weaknesses
Janssen’s finishing inside the box is sensational, as he does indulge himself with a fair number of shots. However, the shots he takes from outside the box don't find similar success and this long-distance accuracy is something he could definitely work on. He could better his control and touch too, so as to reduce his likelihood of losing possession. Furthermore, Janssen has a frustrating tendency to be caught offside relatively often. Hence, improvement in the timing of his runs and movement well is imperative.
What happens next?
The big news of course, is that Arsenal are apparently keeping tabs on Janssen, who has also been followed by Ajax closer to home. He’s also being looked at by Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton, according to various sources. As a forward whose skills match those needed in modern football, Janssen could possibly fit into the system any of these clubs. A justified concern for Eredivisie strikers moving abroad is that they often fail to replicate their success at home. For every Luis Suarez, there is an Afonso Alves; a Jozy Altidore to a Wilfried Bony. In an anecdote, Janssen mentioned once that while he was at Feyenoord, everyone was asked to jot down their dreams. While others scribbled “playing for Real Madrid” and the like, Janssen’s was to play for the national team, more than anything else. His ‘komt goed’ attitude may just lead to him reaching great heights. Regardless of when a move happens, Janssen is definitely a name to keep in mind.
Arkadiusz Milik - 21 // Ajax // Poland
Height: 6′ 1″
A prolific season that ended in heartbreak for Milik, as Ajax narrowly lost the league title to PSV. The 22 year old has 8 goals in the last 2 months, and at times, it looked like he was almost single handedly pushing the Ajax title charge. The wheels came off for him as he failed to find the net in the last 2 games though, as Ajax ended up in 2nd place. Having said that, he’s finished the Eredivisie with 21 goals, a great achievement. Surely, there will be a few suitors knocking on the doors of the Amsterdam ArenA, considering the shortage of top quality strikers across Europe.
As Ronald de Boer told Polish national TV: "Milik has a potential to develop into a top striker, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Luis Suarez before him. It depends on him. History teaches us that potential is not always fulfilled. Milik looks to be on the right path but, just like Zlatan, he has a lot of work ahead of him."
Indeed, Milik is far from the finished article. He doesn't always control the ball well, his tactical awareness leaves a lot to be desired and his right foot is still a concern, even though he used it to score a nice goal against Legia. The striker clearly prefers working with his left foot, which can make him predictable at times.
However, as Ajax assistant coach Dennis Bergkamp said in an interview with Przeglad Sportowy, Milik's left foot is "unique." His stats are impressive to say the least -- the Pole boasts a conversion rate of 11 goals from 28 shots. "Milik came here with a positive attitude, eager to learn," Bergkamp said. Ajax fans even have a special song for him now.
I think a committed Lukaku is a better goal scorer than a fit Sturridge.
I'd jizz for the one game he'd play before our physios make his legs explode.
Aside Milik and Janssen who I presume are only linked because of De Boer which strikers are we actually linked with so far this summer?
Linked with?
We arent linked with anybody and anybody we are linked with is total bs, cos in case you havent noticed, we dont currently have a manager.
Just saying.
Flynnthistle
Player Valuation: £2.5m
Milik would be my first choice by a mile. Seen a lot of him during the euro qualifying campaign and he is a brilliant player. Was more impressive than lewandowski in my opinion. Quite similar in style to him and build but just had more to his game.
Welcome my child.
@GrandOldTeam Can I request a name change for our new Saviour please.
I wish to copyright the name MiliksGoat.
Thanks.
I wish to copyright the name MiliksGoat.
Thanks.
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