Premier League Super Striker Signings

Posted by Rob Shepherd on Friday, July 21, 2017

All of a sudden, we have a talking point! Chelsea have announced they will be signing Alvaro Morata, (by all accounts, their 2nd choice after Lukaku) this comes hot on the heels of Manchester United signing Lukaku (by all accounts, their 2nd choice after Morata, confused yet?), perhaps the biggest shock, is that well renowned tightwad Arsene Wenger has actually bought someone, splashing out £46.5 million for Alexandre Lacazette.

So, let’s have a look at these players, who got the better deal and what can we expect to see next season?

All three of these players would grace any team in the Premier League, Morata and Lacazette are new boys to the Premiership so it will be interesting to see how they perform with the intensity of England’s top flight league. Lukaku has been there, done that and has the tee-shirt. But how will he perform under the microscope of Old Trafford, in front of 75,000 fans, there is no hiding place!

Alvaro Morata – The Boy from Spain

Many, myself included, expected Alvaro Morata to be putting on the red shirt of Manchester United. When talks with Antoine Griezmann stalled when he opted to stay at Atlético Madrid, Morata seemed the most obvious choice.

The noise from Chelsea was that they considered Morata to United a done deal and they were working hard to bring back former player Lukaku to Chelsea, everything seemed sorted! Then, like an episode of Game of Thrones, a WTF week and we are being told that United were never interested in Morata and Lukaku said he could never turn down the “biggest club in the world”, I need a Prozac and a lie down!

Anyway, onto Morata the player, much has been written about Álvaro Borja Morata Martín. A player with huge talent and ability but seemingly untrusted by former club Real Madrid. At 24, he is still developing but even in his limited appearances last term, there is enough for Chelsea fans to get excited about.

He started 13 league games and was a sub in 12 others, despite limited starts he still scored 15 goals and made 4 assists. For Spain, he made 4 appearances in the European Championship and scored 3 goals. Long shots are a strength, an ability to dribble and has an eye for key passes. He will be supported in build-up play from the likes of Hazard, Willian, Fabregas and Pedro.

Alexandre Lacazette – The French Destroyer

On paper, Lacazette’s stats are superb. 6 games in the Europa League, 6 goals and 1 assist. 28 games in Ligue 1, 28 goals and 3 assists. The guy just rains goals. His list of strengths is almost as big as his goal tally, his passing, long shots, through balls and of course striking are key elements of his game.

He is no one season wonder either! He has hit over 20 in his last 3 seasons at Lyon, I know the Premier League poses different questions but I feel he has the quality to be that replacement for Alexis Sánchez if he decides to leave the Emirates.

Arsenal Fans saw a glimpse of Lacazette when he played against Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly. His link up play with Mesut Ozil was first class. Ozil found Lacazette with a pinpoint pass and it took a brilliant save by Bayern goalkeeper Tom Starke to deny Lacazette scoring on his first appearance for The Gunners.

Romelu Lukaku– The Belgian Battering Ram

Manchester United’s outgoings have just been as important as the incomings this year. Wayne Rooney’s departure to Everton created a win-win situation for both player and club but more importantly it has opened up an opportunity for new club legends, could Lukaku be that legend?

There is no doubt that Lukaku will score goals. Anything less than 20 goals in his first season in Manchester United colours will be seen as a disappointment for the 24-year-old. He did it at Everton but United could prove a different beast.

There is no doubt that Romelu believes in his talent, he believes he is the best in the world, is he? No but that self-belief is often the difference between players that make the grade and those that don’t at Old Trafford.

Statwise, Lukaku is fantastic, 36 league games, 25 goals with 6 assists thrown in for good measure. International form was good if not spectacular, 5 games, 2 goals but his passing rate of 74% is impressive for a striker. Last year, he played 58 games, scored 40 goals and made 6 assists with a whoscored.com rating of 7.44. He has already scored in his first appearance for United.

Who Got the Better Deal?

An interesting report by the CIES Football Observatory ranks what a player’s true worth is. This report has been used to benchmark transfer deals and takes into lots of factors such as age, contract length, potential and hundreds of other factors.

Morata to Chelsea: The CIES report claims that Morata is worth £54m, Chelsea paid a reported £60m so they overpaid by £6m.

Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal: The CIES report claims that Lacazette is worth £49m, Arsenal paid a reported £46.5m so they underpaid by £2.5m.

Lukaku to Manchester United: The CIES report claims that Lukaku is worth £93.3m, United paid a reported £75m so they underpaid by £18.3m.

On paper, it looks like Manchester United got the better deal but only time will tell. Whatever happens, I’m excited to see these three super strikers playing shortly.