New Faces, Same Issues

As the end of the season nears, so does the transfer window. Yet again, this window promises to see a batch of new strikers arrive in the Premier League.

Two of them, Viktor Gyökeres and Dusan Vlahović, seem the most likely to find their way to British shores, but will they succeed?

Both Gyökeres and Vlahović find themselves at the center of transfer rumors. Given each striker’s track record, each raises their own unique concerns.

Gyökeres’ statistical profile this season remains one of the most impressive in recent memory. Just about everything goes right for the Swede as he nears one of the best scoring records of the past decade. For Gyökeres, there are still concerns about how his game will translate to a tougher league.

If Vlahović left for the Premier League two years ago, every top club would be fighting one another for his signature. Instead, after multiple disappointing seasons with Juventus, the Serbian finds himself as a reclamation project. He may be the most polarizing player in Europe, as everyone sees something different when looking at Vlahović. 

Going into the summer, outside of Manchester City, most teams fighting for Europe will be looking for a new number nine.

The two names most tied to these clubs both bring their own successes and failures.

PHOTO: Sky Sports Football/Facebook

Looking at his record this season, Gyökeres stands above any other European striker. Every top club on the continent should be fighting for him.

After spending most of his career bouncing across Europe and different flights, the Swede found a home in Portugal. Under Amorim, he burst onto the scene, scoring 29 goals in his first season with Sporting Lisbon. This season, he continued that great form both at home and abroad.

Everything that any club wants in a modern striker, Gyökeres effortlessly blends different styles. Dangerous with the ball at his feet or in the air, he puts the fear in any defender trying to defend him. A mercilessly efficient player, the Swede understands the quality of shots to take and never wastes the ball.

Unlike other strikers available this summer, Gyökeres needs to have the system built around him. Both a good and bad thing, but for the Swede, it’s a worthy gamble.

For as good as his numbers continue to be, they do come in a relatively weak league. The Portuguese league produces some top-class talent, but it’s still weak in comparison to the top 5. However, Gyökeres’ record in Europe shows that he can raise his game depending on the opponent. 

Another issue for strikers coming from the Portuguese league remains the recent run of duds. It’s too easy to clown on Darwin Núñez, but he put up somewhat similar numbers to the Swede. Gyökeres is a better-rounded player than the Liverpool flop, but it’s unrealistic to expect him to score 30 goals in the Prem easily. 

Out of the two options, the Swede appears to be the safer of the two options.

Even if he only puts up 20 goals, Gyökeres profiles as a safe option for any Premier League side.

Vlahović oscillates between looking like AC Milan Zlatan and AC Milan Piątek. With the Serbian, it remains tough to differentiate between the player and the club’s failures.  

When he joined Juventus, Vlahović seemed like the top striker wonderkid—a tall and technically gifted striker who made mincemeat of Serie A defenses. As the cornerstone of the new Juve project, everything lined up for the Serbian to light up the Italian league.

Since joining the Old Lady, Vlahović has never seriously contended for the top scorer award. He also plays for a club whose only consistency is its chaos. Surely, part of his struggles can be attributed to the team’s inability to find any sort of coherent vision.

Even with that caveat, outside of Thiago Motta, the club only appointed managers who wanted to make the Serbian their centerpiece. However, the player struggles no matter the system.

As a lone striker, he drifts in between the game and with another target man, Vlahović cannot understand how to match his movement. He plays his best when he has a number ten that can set him up, but neither club nor country really does that for Vlahović. Struggling with movement and timing remains the biggest issue separating him from being a top-class forward.

This season saw the Serbian’s efficiency fall off a cliff, with recent weeks seeing him waste chance after chance. All his scoring numbers are down as he will likely finish the season with only ten league goals. Unfortunately for him, this Juve side seems ready to move on from the player they hoped to build the future around.

Deep in Vlahović exists a good striker, but it’s been ages since he’s consistently been seen. Perhaps the best move existing for the Serbian would be as a replacement for Isak, should he move this summer. 

With so many clubs aiming to land a new striker, this window will produce a hot market. Two names likely on most people’s minds are Gyökeres and Vlahović.

For as much promise shown by both players, neither seems likely to be the franchise-changing talent that clubs are chasing.

PHOTO: Sky Sports Football/Facebook