Best Striker in the World

Luke1995 said:
I find Kane to be a better finisher. His all around play isn't great but he is the best closer to the box.

Benzema is very good, in fairness to your point, I just find it amazing how many goals Kane has managed to score in under-developed Tottenham teams.
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Yeah, I for one didn't think Kane would be this good. So full credit to him for having such a good career.

Benzema on the other hand was destined for greatness, rated so highly from young age. So when it comes to natural ability, I rate Benzema very high. But then 'natural talent' is very subjective term.
 
MalaysianRed7 said:
2) Benzema - The way he’s stepped into Ronaldo’s shoes with absolutely no issue has been admirable. Real Madrid have almost solely depended on him for goals, and he definitely hasn’t let them down, with 27 in all competitions in 2019-20 when they won the league, 30 last season and 11 in 11 this season. He’s genuinely arguably their best creator as well, with 8 assists next to those goals already. He’s finally won that elusive international trophy as well, which France wouldn’t have won without him rescuing them in both the semis and final.
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It's completely baffling why people ignores Benzema's 30 goals + 11 assists from 2018-19 season...

And please, winning a glorified friendly cup tournament is nothing special. A World Cup or Euro is what I'd call an "international trophy".

Luke1995 said:
I find Kane to be a better finisher. His all around play isn't great but he is the best closer to the box.

Benzema is very good, in fairness to your point, I just find it amazing how many goals Kane has managed to score in under-developed Tottenham teams.
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Harry Kane may be a better finisher than Benzema between 18/19-20/21 going by Understat. Although it's by slighest, smallest & thiniest margin.

- Karim Benzema (9062 minutes): 0.65 goals per game despite an 0.59 xG
- Harry Kane (8129 minutes): 0.64 goals per 90 despite an 0.57 xG
 
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roonster09 said:
Yeah, I for one didn't think Kane would be this good. So full credit to him for having such a good career.

Benzema on the other hand was destined for greatness, rated so highly from young age. So when it comes to natural ability, I rate Benzema very high. But then 'natural talent' is very subjective term.
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I actually feel like Benzema's first four seasons at Madrid were not very good. After that he really kicked on, and definitely since Ronaldo left.

At Lyon he showed a massive playmaking ability and goalscoring instincts but that was not always in display in the earlier part of his madrid career. It's almost like he was forced to hide it.
 
balaks said:
Well that is because it is still happening. Sancho hasn't exactly set the world on fire has he.
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You do realize that English clubs besides United sign players from the Bundesliga? For every Kagawa there is a de Bruyne.
 
Ronaldo/Lewa/Benzema right now.

Halaand the obvious answer for the future.
 
Luke1995 said:
I actually feel like Benzema's first four seasons at Madrid were not very good. After that he really kicked on, and definitely since Ronaldo left.

At Lyon he showed a massive playmaking ability and goalscoring instincts but that was not always in display in the earlier part of his madrid career. It's almost like he was forced to hide it.
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:wenger:

Benzema was solid and even very good since his 2nd season at Real Madrid

LaLiga 2009-10 season: 8 goals + 11 assists in 1308 minutes (0.76 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2010-11 season: 15 goals + 5 assists in 1887 minutes (0.95 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2011-12 season: 21 goals + 7 assists in 2258 minutes (1.12 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2012-13 season: 11 goals + 11 assists in 1791 minutes (1.11 goal/assist per 90)
 
Drygon said:
:wenger:

Benzema was solid and even very good since his 2nd season at Real Madrid

LaLiga 2009-10 season: 8 goals + 11 assists in 1308 minutes (0.76 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2010-11 season: 15 goals + 5 assists in 1887 minutes (0.95 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2011-12 season: 21 goals + 7 assists in 2258 minutes (1.12 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2012-13 season: 11 goals + 11 assists in 1791 minutes (1.11 goal/assist per 90)
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Beyond the numbers, he wasn’t that good in his 2nd season. There’s a reason Mourinho bought Adebayor in the winter window of that season and famously remarked in the media that he was “hunting with a cat” when Higuain got injured and Benzema was his only available #9. He mostly really kicked on and showed he could fulfil his potential in 11/12.
 
Drygon said:
:wenger:

Benzema was solid and even very good since his 2nd season at Real Madrid

LaLiga 2009-10 season: 8 goals + 11 assists in 1308 minutes (0.76 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2010-11 season: 15 goals + 5 assists in 1887 minutes (0.95 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2011-12 season: 21 goals + 7 assists in 2258 minutes (1.12 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2012-13 season: 11 goals + 11 assists in 1791 minutes (1.11 goal/assist per 90)
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Exactly why you shouldn't trust number of APPS when comparing strikers or players in general.
The minutes he played clearly don't reflect the number of appearances he made these seasons.
His stats look a lot more impressive when you only take minutes played into account
 
Drygon said:
:wenger:

Benzema was solid and even very good since his 2nd season at Real Madrid

LaLiga 2009-10 season: 8 goals + 11 assists in 1308 minutes (0.76 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2010-11 season: 15 goals + 5 assists in 1887 minutes (0.95 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2011-12 season: 21 goals + 7 assists in 2258 minutes (1.12 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2012-13 season: 11 goals + 11 assists in 1791 minutes (1.11 goal/assist per 90)
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Even if that's the case, he clearly developed a new level to his game after those four seasons.

It's a little bit of a weird career trajectory because at Lyon he seemed to have the potential to score 40 goals per season. I thought he was just going to be the new Ronaldo Phenom at the time.
 
Drygon said:
:wenger:

Benzema was solid and even very good since his 2nd season at Real Madrid

LaLiga 2009-10 season: 8 goals + 11 assists in 1308 minutes (0.76 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2010-11 season: 15 goals + 5 assists in 1887 minutes (0.95 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2011-12 season: 21 goals + 7 assists in 2258 minutes (1.12 goal/assist per 90)
LaLiga 2012-13 season: 11 goals + 11 assists in 1791 minutes (1.11 goal/assist per 90)
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These numbers are actually even better in other statistics, where they also count winning penalties. You must have mixed up the numberes for 09/10 season though.
09/10: 5 assists
10/11: 6 assists
11/12: 11 assists
12/13: 13 assists

Benzema was 22-26 old in those seasons.

....still the numbers are not quite like Haaland's (age 19-21) at Dortmund:
BL: 50 goals + 15 assists in 4063 minutes (1,44 G+A/90)
CL: 21 goals + 3 assists in 1386 minutes (1,56 G+A/90)

Compared with Benzema aged 19-22 at Lyon (which was enough to make him one of the most interesting prospects in football at the time and gave him a move to the Galacticos) :
Ligue 1 06-09: 42 goals 18 assists in 6496 minutes (0,83 G+A/90)
CL 06-09: 11 goals and 3 assists in 1390 minutes (0,91 G+A/90)

Benzema as the main man at RM, post Ronaldo, in his absolute prime according to most pundits out there:
Laliga 18-21: 77 goals + 31 assists in 10217 minutes (0,95 G+A/90)
CL 18-21: 20 goals + 5 assists in 2471 minutes (0,91 G+A/90)

I think we can say that while Benzema has had a great career and is a world class striker, it should be impossible to rate him as the best striker in the world at any point of his career.
 
A little wrap up of last season for the most relevant players from last season:

Goalscoring for club and country from 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,22 goals/90 minutes
2. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,06 goals/90 minutes
3. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 0,96 goals/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 0,95 goals/90 minutes
5. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,81 goals/90 minutes
6. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,73 goals/90 minutes
7. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,72 goals/90 minutes
8. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
9. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
10. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,54 goals/90 minutes

Total goal contribution (goals + assists) for club and country 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 1,56 goals+assists/90 minutes
2. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,51 goals+assists/90 minutes
3. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,29 goals+assists/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 1,25 goals+assists/90 minutes
5. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 1,12 goals+assists/90 minutes
6. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,93 goals+assists/90 minutes
7. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,91 goals+assists/90 minutes
8. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,89 goals+assists/90 minutes
9. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,87 goals+assists/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,83 goals+assists/90 minutes

Good to see the young superstars on top of the list. Will be very interesting to see if they can keep it up the next 10-15 years. Mbappe needs a move away from Ligue 1 to really test himself and get the cred he wants though. PSG has scored 17 goals in their first 3 matches in Ligue 1 to start this season...

Benzema won both CL and LaLiga so I would be surprised not to se him win the Ballon d'or this season.
 
Benzema and lewa ahead of the pack and as of I think it's not particularly close either.

Halland on the rise and let's whether kane gets back to his best or not.
 
troylocker said:
A little wrap up of last season for the most relevant players from last season:

Goalscoring for club and country from 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,22 goals/90 minutes
2. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,06 goals/90 minutes
3. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 0,96 goals/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 0,95 goals/90 minutes
5. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,81 goals/90 minutes
6. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,73 goals/90 minutes
7. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,72 goals/90 minutes
8. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
9. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
10. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,54 goals/90 minutes

Total goal contribution (goals + assists) for club and country 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 1,56 goals+assists/90 minutes
2. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,51 goals+assists/90 minutes
3. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,29 goals+assists/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 1,25 goals+assists/90 minutes
5. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 1,12 goals+assists/90 minutes
6. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,93 goals+assists/90 minutes
7. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,91 goals+assists/90 minutes
8. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,89 goals+assists/90 minutes
9. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,87 goals+assists/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,83 goals+assists/90 minutes

Good to see the young superstars on top of the list. Will be very interesting to see if they can keep it up the next 10-15 years. Mbappe needs a move away from Ligue 1 to really test himself and get the cred he wants though. PSG has scored 17 goals in their first 3 matches in Ligue 1 to start this season...

Benzema won both CL and LaLiga so I would be surprised not to se him win the Ballon d'or this season.
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Good stats. Haaland and Mbappé really are the next stars. If Nkunku does it again this season at a similar level, we should look to get him next summer to solve some of our forward problems.
 
troylocker said:
A little wrap up of last season for the most relevant players from last season:

Goalscoring for club and country from 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,22 goals/90 minutes
2. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,06 goals/90 minutes
3. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 0,96 goals/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 0,95 goals/90 minutes
5. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,81 goals/90 minutes
6. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,73 goals/90 minutes
7. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,72 goals/90 minutes
8. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
9. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,69 goals/90 minutes
10. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,54 goals/90 minutes

Total goal contribution (goals + assists) for club and country 1/8 2021 - 1/8 2022:

1. Mbappe (PSG/France) - 1,56 goals+assists/90 minutes
2. Haaland (Dortmund/Norway) - 1,51 goals+assists/90 minutes
3. Lewa (Bayern/Poland) - 1,29 goals+assists/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real/France) - 1,25 goals+assists/90 minutes
5. Nkunku (Leipzig/France) - 1,12 goals+assists/90 minutes
6. Immobile (Lazio/Italy) - 0,93 goals+assists/90 minutes
7. Vlahovic (Atalanta/Juve/Serbia) - 0,91 goals+assists/90 minutes
8. Kane (Spurs/England) - 0,89 goals+assists/90 minutes
9. Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 0,87 goals+assists/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man United/Portugal) - 0,83 goals+assists/90 minutes

Good to see the young superstars on top of the list. Will be very interesting to see if they can keep it up the next 10-15 years. Mbappe needs a move away from Ligue 1 to really test himself and get the cred he wants though. PSG has scored 17 goals in their first 3 matches in Ligue 1 to start this season...

Benzema won both CL and LaLiga so I would be surprised not to se him win the Ballon d'or this season.
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How's Thomas Müller with 0,96 g+a / 90 minutes not most relevant :nono:
 
GhastlyHun said:
How's Thomas Müller with 0,96 g+a / 90 minutes not most relevant :nono:
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Easy, he wasn't used as a striker but behind Lewandowski.

Müller becomes relevant in a discussion about the best 10, not about the best 9.
 
stefan92 said:
Easy, he wasn't used as a striker but behind Lewandowski.

Müller becomes relevant in a discussion about the best 10, not about the best 9.
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Yeah, i figured that one out in the meantime. Still a good opportunity to highlight Müller's numbers :D
 
Too early to tell who is the best this season as season just started.

Benzema, Haaland and Lewandowski come to mind as the best.
 
GhastlyHun said:
How's Thomas Müller with 0,96 g+a / 90 minutes not most relevant :nono:
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He was absolutely relevant last season, but he hasn't been mentioned in this thread before and he didn't score as much as the others. I only took strikers with 0,5 goals/90 in top 5 leagues and up.

Muller: 0,39 goals/90

Great player and great teamplayer. Among the top 10 strikers in the world? Not for me.

One could also make a case for Lautaro Martinez and Darwin Nunez on the list:
Lautaro Martinez: 0,71 goals/90 and 0,87 goals+assists/90 or Inter/Argentina (Could possibly be on the list was 50/50 between him and Vlahovic)
Darwin Nunes: 0,96 goals/90 and 1,08 goals+assists/90 for Benfica/Uruguay (Portuguese league and first really good season, so maybe not in the discussion yet)

Other honorable menitons with 0,5ish or higher goals/90 in top 5 leagues:
Lukaku: 0,57 goals/90 and 0,66 goals+assists/90 for Chelsea/Belgium (Horrible season for him. Let's see if he finds his tune again in Italy)
Messi: 0,49 goals/90 and 0,90 goals+assists/90 for PSG/Argentina (underachieving in a league he's to good for)
Son: 0,60 goals/90 and 0,80 goals+assists/90 for Spurs/South Korea
Auba: 0,65 goals/90 and 0,74 goals+assists/90 for Arsenal/Barca/Gabon
Suarez: 0,50 goals/90 and 0,58 goals+assists/90 for Atletico/Uruguay
Dybala: 0,56 goals/90 and 0,76 goals+assists/90 for Juve/Argentina
Ben Yedder: 0,81 goals/90 and 1.00 goals+assists/90 for Monaco/France (Outside my top 10)
M Dembele: 0,73 goals/90 and 0,90 goals+assists/90 for Lyon (far outside my top 10)
Neymar: 0,56 goals/90 and 0,92 goals+assists/90 for PSG/Brazil (underachieving in a league he's to good for)
Schick: 0,93 goals/90 and 1,16 goals+assists/90 for Leverkusen/Czechia. (Mainly because he is 26 and this is his first season with great numbers)
Modeste, Terrier, Moreno, etc. nope.
 
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Goalscoring for club so far this season:

1. Mbappe (PSG) - 1,35 goals/90 minutes
2. Lewa (Barca) - 1,33 goals/90 minutes
3. Haaland (City) - 1,30 goals/90 minutes
4. Vlahovic (Juve) - 1,01 goals/90 minutes
5. Benzema (Real) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
6. Nkunku (Leipzig) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
7. Kane (Spurs) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
8. Salah (Liverpool) - 0,6 goals/90 minutes
9. Immobile (Lazio) - 0,33 goals/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man United) - 0,00 goals/90 minutes

Total goal contribution (goals + assists) for club so far this season:

1. Lewa (Barca) - 1,67 goals+assists/90 minutes
2. Haaland (City) - 1,52 goals+assists/90 minutes
3. Mbappe (PSG) - 1,35 goals+assists/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real) - 1,25 goals+assists/90 minutes
5. Nkunku (Leipzig) - 1,20 goals+assists/90 minutes
6. Vlahovic (Juve) - 1,01 goals+assists/90 minutes
7. Kane (Spurs) - 1,00 goals+assists/90 minutes
8. Salah (Liverpool) - 0,80 goals+assists/90 minutes
9. Immobile (Lazio) - 0,67 goals+assists/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man Unitedl) - 0,00 goals+assists/90 minutes

It's been a very good start of the season for most of the usual suspects.

Honorable mention:

Neymar (PSG) - 1,60 goals/90 minutes and 2,80 goals+assists/90 minutes
Tells you a little bit about the level of competition PSG with Neymar, Messi and Mbappe faces in France (21-4 GF after 5 games), but still absolutely fantastic numbers. Let's put it in perspective:

Liverpool has 16-6 GF after 5 games this season.
City has 14-8 GF after 5 games this season.
Barca has 8-1 GF after 3 games this season.
Real has 11-3 GF after 4 games this season.
Juve has 4-1 GF after 3 games this season.
Leipzig has 9-10 GF after 5 games this season.
Man United has 4-8 GF after 4 games this season.
....
 
To me it’s Haaland.

With this season playing for a super team, he would be far ahead of everyone else in numbers, if he managed to stay injury free.
 
troylocker said:
Goalscoring for club so far this season:

1. Mbappe (PSG) - 1,35 goals/90 minutes
2. Lewa (Barca) - 1,33 goals/90 minutes
3. Haaland (City) - 1,30 goals/90 minutes
4. Vlahovic (Juve) - 1,01 goals/90 minutes
5. Benzema (Real) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
6. Nkunku (Leipzig) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
7. Kane (Spurs) - 1,00 goals/90 minutes
8. Salah (Liverpool) - 0,6 goals/90 minutes
9. Immobile (Lazio) - 0,33 goals/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man United) - 0,00 goals/90 minutes

Total goal contribution (goals + assists) for club so far this season:

1. Lewa (Barca) - 1,67 goals+assists/90 minutes
2. Haaland (City) - 1,52 goals+assists/90 minutes
3. Mbappe (PSG) - 1,35 goals+assists/90 minutes
4. Benzema (Real) - 1,25 goals+assists/90 minutes
5. Nkunku (Leipzig) - 1,20 goals+assists/90 minutes
6. Vlahovic (Juve) - 1,01 goals+assists/90 minutes
7. Kane (Spurs) - 1,00 goals+assists/90 minutes
8. Salah (Liverpool) - 0,80 goals+assists/90 minutes
9. Immobile (Lazio) - 0,67 goals+assists/90 minutes
10. Ronaldo (Man Unitedl) - 0,00 goals+assists/90 minutes

It's been a very good start of the season for most of the usual suspects.

Honorable mention:

Neymar (PSG) - 1,60 goals/90 minutes and 2,80 goals+assists/90 minutes
Tells you a little bit about the level of competition PSG with Neymar, Messi and Mbappe faces in France (21-4 GF after 5 games), but still absolutely fantastic numbers. Let's put it in perspective:

Liverpool has 16-6 GF after 5 games this season.
City has 14-8 GF after 5 games this season.
Barca has 8-1 GF after 3 games this season.
Real has 11-3 GF after 4 games this season.
Juve has 4-1 GF after 3 games this season.
Leipzig has 9-10 GF after 5 games this season.
Man United has 4-8 GF after 4 games this season.
....
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I might have missed how you came up with that specific top 10 but why not show the current top 10 from the big five leagues instead? (Obviously the data must be easily available to do that. I am unsure if that is given.)
Definitely thank you for your effort!
 
MrEleson said:
Beyond the numbers, he wasn’t that good in his 2nd season. There’s a reason Mourinho bought Adebayor in the winter window of that season and famously remarked in the media that he was “hunting with a cat” when Higuain got injured and Benzema was his only available #9. He mostly really kicked on and showed he could fulfil his potential in 11/12.
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Leagues where getting 95 points did not guarantee being champions. Mourinho needed backups for as many positions as possible and Madrid had the financial muscle to do it.
 
For a one-off game right now? I’d pick Mbappe first. Benzema would be second, so close that it would be almost level pegging. Lewa is phenomenal but I would have third as he couldn’t beat a man like Mbappe or link and be mobile like Benzema, but is the perfect CF and target man and would finish anything put near him.

I simple haven’t watched enough of Haaland to really pass judgment yet. Seems amazing though.
 
Red the Bear said:
To have Nunez above kane is ridiculous.
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It's my list. You can have yours.

Nunez is above Kane because if you asked me if I want to have Nunez in our squad right now, or Kane (price and other considerations aside) the clear answer is - I would take Nunez, no doubt about that. And don't forget Nunez was EtH's #1 target, which we weren't able to get.

Idxomer said:
Look at when the thread was made.
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Ah! Good point.
 
NewGlory said:
It's my list. You can have yours.

Nunez is above Kane because if you asked me if I want to have Nunez in our squad right now, or Kane (price and other considerations aside) the clear answer is - I would take Nunez, no doubt about that. And don't forget Nunez was EtH's #1 target, which we weren't able to get.



Ah! Good point.
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I mean fair enough as Nunez is still pretty young and could grow into a top forward but as of now I just don't see it, numbers favor kane as well.

But as you said , it's your list.
 
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