Hugo Ekitike

[VP89]

Sesko is just a name that has been around for a while and consistently been linked to top clubs.

The issue is that he's not really set the league alight, in the way which Haaland and the like have done so in the past.

There are times he scores a worldie and as usual it gets posted on social media and everyone then thinks wow... Sesko is the one, a top top player, then you dont hear anything for months.

What I have learnt with strikers from the past is you cannot judge a striker on numbers from a different league, or highlights. You have to watch 90 mins of the game. I can produce a youtube 3 min clip that makes Hojlund look 80m.

For me, above the goals its about the link up play, hold up, what kind of runs they make.. etc.. which can only be judged watching multiple 90 minute games.

I think we will have enough players to link up and from interviews it appears that Amorim wants to keep his striker simple. Run off the shoulder and be a ruthless finisher, a fox in the box and a threat in the air. Sesko for me belongs in the bottom of that four man list.

 

[Rozay]

I dont get the hype with Sesko. He has ok numbers in the Bundasliga, which doesn't fill me with any confidence. 14 last year and on course for a similar haul this year.

I'm just sick and tired of project strikers or forwards who aren't chronic goalscorers. We really need a player of pedigree who has more output.

I haven’t offered any personal opinion on Sesko, to be clear - what I’ve said is that his pedigree is greater than what Hojlund’s was before he came here. Simply, signing Sesko isn’t the direct equivalent of when we signed Hojlund. Signing Sesko would represent signing a far more coveted and highly regarded young striker than we did. So it’s one thing to not sign young strikers because the last one wasn’t great, but another club could spend even more money than we did on Hojlund and sign an even less proven striker but of far greater talent and pedigree and it be a good signing. I don’t think there should be a blanket approach.

For me, my only concern is that we get the right striker. I don’t think there’s any formula for that. The right guy is just the right guy. The right guy doesn’t have to mean ‘26 and just come off the back of two 20+ goal seasons’, although that player might be the right guy. Sesko’s numbers don’t make him the wrong guy, for me. Ultimately, what we want is a world class striker. If we feel Sesko has a better chance of being the best striker in the PL than Gyokeres, then I’d rather we sign Sesko, regardless of whatever Gyokeres has done.

In summary, I’d gladly sign another young striker. It just depends on how good he is. That’s for the club/scouts to decide regarding the likes of Ekitike and Sesko - but if they were convinced, I’d rather sign them than a 26 year old we’re not convinced by.

 

[Rozay]

That said, perhaps I will offer opinion on Sesko now - for me, he’s the one. Osimhen and Gyokeres do not inspire me at all, and Osimhen in particular is apparently demanding huge money too.

Sesko has the biggest talent I feel. He has the best physical attributes for the PL and is technically superb too. He has touch, can dribble, head and shoot off both feet. I have no problem with him scoring ‘just’ 14 goals either, or if you ‘don’t hear of him’ (basically, he hasn’t scored a banger) for 5 games either. That’s all stat watching which I don’t really abide by. The difference between a ‘top striker’s 20+ goal season and them getting 14 goals is almost always 6 or 7 penalties anyway. You would struggle to find many amazing goalscorers in recent years who do not score 6+ league pens a season. 6 or so penalties a season is the difference between Isak being touted for 150m and 70m. It will also often be the difference between going 5 games without scoring and not doing so.

14 open play goals a season from a young striker is an exceptional return. If you add 6 pens he’s already a 20-goal guy, and the conversation (and price) is very different.

Thankfully, I think most top clubs see this, which is why they all want Sesko. He’s clearly the standout young centre forward in football, and if you watch him you will see he has all the tools you could want for the role, and seemingly a strong mentality too. I’ve said before, but with Bruno here, it has severely impacted our strikers with him taking on a role traditionally reserved for the number 9s. As much as I don’t rate Hojlund, I do think you see a very different player if he had the penalties instead of Bruno. No long goal droughts, just this week he could have had 3 goals in a week, and part of the reason our strikers haven’t racked up the numbers in recent years is because they don’t take pens. Salah, Haaland, Isak - the league’s leading scorers all get a good amount. All anyone remembers is that they scored 23 goals. After Bruno, I hope our 9 takes the pens, whoever he is.

 

[Yoro]

I dont get the hype with Sesko. He has ok numbers in the Bundasliga, which doesn't fill me with any confidence. 14 last year and on course for a similar haul this year.

I'm just sick and tired of project strikers or forwards who aren't chronic goalscorers. We really need a player of pedigree who has more output.

Sesko looks like he can't run.

 

[devilish]

I often wonder if we're asking too much out of our players. We want a striker that is young, that is cheap, that is hardworking, that can sustain the EPL's physicality and tempo, who will can go deep and create assists for the side, who can dribble past players but whose also a natural finisher. I mean even legends like prime RVN would struggle to tick every box in there.

The trouble with asking too much is that often you end up losing the focus of what really important. That usually translate in a goalkeeper with the reflexes of a 90 year old who often finds himself roaming outside the box for god knows why and has a tendency to push the ball in the opponent's feet or a striker who thinks football is all about trying to physically bully defenders into submission rather then score goals.

In my opinion we should go for the basics. We should make sure that wingbacks can provide width, that the no 10s produce the magic and that the STK produce goals.

 

[VP89]

I haven’t offered any personal opinion on Sesko, to be clear - what I’ve said is that his pedigree is greater than what Hojlund’s was before he came here. Simply, signing Sesko isn’t the direct equivalent of when we signed Hojlund. Signing Sesko would represent signing a far more coveted and highly regarded young striker than we did. So it’s one thing to not sign young strikers because the last one wasn’t great, but another club could spend even more money than we did on Hojlund and sign an even less proven striker but of far greater talent and pedigree and it be a good signing. I don’t think there should be a blanket approach.

For me, my only concern is that we get the right striker. I don’t think there’s any formula for that. The right guy is just the right guy. The right guy doesn’t have to mean ‘26 and just come off the back of two 20+ goal seasons’, although that player might be the right guy. Sesko’s numbers don’t make him the wrong guy, for me. Ultimately, what we want is a world class striker. If we feel Sesko has a better chance of being the best striker in the PL than Gyokeres, then I’d rather we sign Sesko, regardless of whatever Gyokeres has done.

In summary, I’d gladly sign another young striker. It just depends on how good he is. That’s for the club/scouts to decide regarding the likes of Ekitike and Sesko - but if they were convinced, I’d rather sign them than a 26 year old we’re not convinced by.

Signing Sesko would be a huge gamble for little showing. Being more established than Hojlund doest carry much weight because it's hard not to be.

I dont really trust our scouts just yet becuase there's nothing to suggest they have pedigree. What is more obvious is Sesko is not proven and would be very odd for us to move for him. In fact I'm quite sure we won't.

 

[andersj]

That said, perhaps I will offer opinion on Sesko now - for me, he’s the one. Osimhen and Gyokeres do not inspire me at all, and Osimhen in particular is apparently demanding huge money too.

Sesko has the biggest talent I feel. He has the best physical attributes for the PL and is technically superb too. He has touch, can dribble, head and shoot off both feet. I have no problem with him scoring ‘just’ 14 goals either, or if you ‘don’t hear of him’ (basically, he hasn’t scored a banger) for 5 games either. That’s all stat watching which I don’t really abide by. The difference between a ‘top striker’s 20+ goal season and them getting 14 goals is almost always 6 or 7 penalties anyway. You would struggle to find many amazing goalscorers in recent years who do not score 6+ league pens a season. 6 or so penalties a season is the difference between Isak being touted for 150m and 70m. It will also often be the difference between going 5 games without scoring and not doing so.

14 open play goals a season from a young striker is an exceptional return. If you add 6 pens he’s already a 20-goal guy, and the conversation (and price) is very different.

Thankfully, I think most top clubs see this, which is why they all want Sesko. He’s clearly the standout young centre forward in football, and if you watch him you will see he has all the tools you could want for the role, and seemingly a strong mentality too. I’ve said before, but with Bruno here, it has severely impacted our strikers with him taking on a role traditionally reserved for the number 9s. As much as I don’t rate Hojlund, I do think you see a very different player if he had the penalties instead of Bruno. No long goal droughts, just this week he could have had 3 goals in a week, and part of the reason our strikers haven’t racked up the numbers in recent years is because they don’t take pens. Salah, Haaland, Isak - the league’s leading scorers all get a good amount. All anyone remembers is that they scored 23 goals. After Bruno, I hope our 9 takes the pens, whoever he is.

Sesko is a very good player and a great talent. Technically and physically he is superb.

But, per now, he is not a player I would expect to score 20 open play goals in the PL. Movement in the penalty area is a quality, and it is not a strenght at all for Sesko. I think he ideally, right now, need wide attackers like Salah and Mane next to him. As a type he is more similar to Zirkzee, but more talented.

But Zlatan was the same at a young age. He developed.

It would be difficult to pass on Sesko, but I do think this squad need a goal scorer.

 

[Rozay]

Signing Sesko would be a huge gamble for little showing. Being more established than Hojlund doest carry much weight because it's hard not to be.

I dont really trust our scouts just yet becuase there's nothing to suggest they have pedigree. What is more obvious is Sesko is not proven and would be very odd for us to move for him. In fact I'm quite sure we won't.

That’s fair. And I meant he was more proven than the Hojlund we signed. The point is, there’s nuance amongst the broad demographic of ‘young strikers’. Sesko this summer and Hojlund two summers ago are very different. So not signing another Hojlund isn’t necessarily the same as not signing a Sesko. Regardless of how they may turn out of course.

And whether Sesko is ‘proven’ or not is subjective. ‘Little showing’ is also subjective. I’d argue that his talent and ability is proven. I’d imagine what you mean by little showing is little numbers. As a club, we will look at more than that. This is a player we’ve been watching for 5 years plus, so he may have shown plenty to us by now, ever since his days at Domzale (I think it was) where he was on our radar.

If we want a player with hundreds of goals behind him, as well as hundreds of goals in front of him - all while seeking to seemingly spend no more than a few million, then good luck to us. We will almost certainly fail at that mission.

 

[Rozay]

Sesko is a very good player and a great talent. Technically and physically he is superb.

But, per now, he is not a player I would expect to score 20 open play goals in the PL. Movement in the penalty area is a quality, and it is not a strenght at all for Sesko. He is almost similar to Hojlund in that sense. But for Sekso, unlike Hojlund, his overall game compensates. I think he ideally, right now, need wide attackers like Salah and Mane next to him.

But Zlatan was the same at a young age. He developed.

My point is, even Isak and Salah struggle to score 20 open play goals in the PL. they both score several penalties a season an end up mid-twenties over all. As a result, Sesko ‘only’ scoring 14 open play goals at his age isn’t unimpressive at all.

 

[MiracleInMadrid]

I often wonder if we're asking too much out of our players. We want a striker that is young, that is cheap, that is hardworking, that can sustain the EPL's physicality and tempo, who will can go deep and create assists for the side, who can dribble past players but whose also a natural finisher. I mean even legends like prime RVN would struggle to tick every box in there.

The trouble with asking too much is that often you end up losing the focus of what really important. That usually translate in a goalkeeper with the reflexes of a 90 year old who often finds himself roaming outside the box for god knows why and has a tendency to push the ball in the opponent's feet or a striker who thinks football is all about trying to physically bully defenders into submission rather then score goals.

In my opinion we should go for the basics. We should make sure that wingbacks can provide width, that the no 10s produce the magic and that the STK produce goals.

I think there's some truth to that. But I also think that we are too reliant on too few players. Instead of having 3-5 strikers with different skillsets for different tactical situations, we rely heavily on 1-2 strikers to lift the burden over the course of a season across different competitions, different opponents (both in term of difficulty and tactical approach) and with different teammates behind them from match to match.

Same thing goes for other positions. Before we brought in Dorgu we were far too reliant on Shaw being fit and playing all the time at his best level for us to perform well.

 

[andersj]

My point is, even Isak and Salah struggle to score 20 open play goals in the PL. they both score several penalties a season an end up mid-twenties over all. As a result, Sesko ‘only’ scoring 14 open play goals at his age isn’t unimpressive at all.

I agree. 14 goals is a good return. But you could also argue that Hojlund, all things considered, had a good return last year.

Even Zirkzee scored 15 goals from open play at a young age. In Belgium. But still. 11 open play goals for a rather poor side in Serie A last year. And currently Sesko is on 9.

The big «issue» with signing Sesko is that our squad currently lacks a goal scorer. Maybe his talent makes him worth it.

 

[Mihai]

It is not the hope that kills you, what kills you is the knowledge that it is the hope that kills you.

Sir, this is a Wendy's

 

[Rozay]

I agree. 14 goals is a good return. But you could also argue that Hojlund, all things considered, had a good return last year.

Even Zirkzee scored 15 goals from open play at a young age. In Belgium. But still. 11 open play goals for a rather poor side in Serie A last year. And currently Sesko is on 9.

The big «issue» with signing Sesko is that our squad currently lacks a goal scorer. Maybe his talent makes him worth it.

Indeed, this is all correct. Which is why you can’t just enter a few numbers into an excel spreadsheet and think you get the striker you want/need. Everyone’s 15 goals isn’t the same. 15 goals for one player isn’t the same as 15 goals for the other.

Bring back watching football and making judgements from what you see, I say.

 

[pcaming]

We need goals badly. Sesko does not bring that to the level we need.

If we sell both our strikers and get him and another fine, but right now we need an experienced striker. He's looking more Moratta than Lukaku and that’s not what we need.

 

[SparkedIntoLife]

It's difficult because the proper centre forward type traditionally comes good at like 25. Isak 'flopped' at Dortmund and looks in the top 3 strikers in the PL right now. Ekitike 'flopped' at PSG but is rebuilding at Frankfurt who, to be honest, have made several strikers now look better than they actually are. Sesko is very young and raw but the potential upside is ridiculous. The same, too, could be said for Hojlund but he seems to lack the talent that Sesko and Ekitike possess, in my opinion.

Hopefully our scouts and football people make the right call. Totally agree with @Rozay that it's not as simple as who has the goal scoring pedigree or right profile; it's about the fit, the potential, suitability to the league and sometimes a fair bit of luck.

 

[Rozay]

We need goals badly. Sesko does not bring that to the level we need.

If we sell both our strikers and get him and another fine, but right now we need an experienced striker. He's looking more Moratta than Lukaku and that’s not what we need.

That remains to be seen. Hate to continually use the comparison, but Isak also ‘didn’t bring that to the level we need’ before Newcastle paid 63m. The point is, if we believe that he will score the goals needed then that’s all that matters. The determination of that at this level is, I imagine, far more nuanced and detailed than ‘how many goals did he get last season?’. You wouldn’t need scouts at all for that at all, just the mathematics.

Everyone likes to play scout these days and there are no shortage of websites, social media accounts etc that bring everyone closer to the game and make them feel qualified to make these calls. Yet none of them would have probably felt spending 63m on Isak was warranted. That’s where an actually qualified and talented human being needs to earn their money and just highlights that football is not played by fbref or whatever else people are so fixated on today.

The bottom line is, regardless of any history - a club is buying a player based on what they think he will do rather than what he has done. The reasoning behind determining what they think he will do is nuanced. A club might reasonably think a player will do what he hasn’t previously done, and may also think that a player will not do what he has previously managed to do. Someone needs to make these calls determination as to whether we are signing an Alexander Isak or an Alexis Sanchez.

 

[Redstain]

I would take a chance on Sesko. Rasmus Hojlund cannot be used as a barometer to determine the clubs tendency to take a chance on future talent.

 

[Kingslayer18]

That remains to be seen. Hate to continually use the comparison, but Isak also ‘didn’t bring that to the level we need’ before Newcastle paid 63m. The point is, if we believe that he will score the goals needed then that’s all that matters. The determination of that at this level is, I imagine, far more nuanced and detailed than ‘how many goals did he get last season?’. You wouldn’t need scouts at all for that at all, just the mathematics.

Everyone likes to play scout these days and there are no shortage of websites, social media accounts etc that bring everyone closer to the game and make them feel qualified to make these calls. Yet none of them would have probably felt spending 63m on Isak was warranted. That’s where an actually qualified and talented human being needs to earn their money and just highlights that football is not played by fbref or whatever else people are so fixated on today.

The bottom line is, regardless of any history - a club is buying a player based on what they think he will do rather than what he has done. The reasoning behind determining what they think he will do is nuanced. A club might reasonably think a player will do what he hasn’t previously done, and may also think that a player will not do what he has previously managed to do. Someone needs to make these calls determination as to whether we are signing an Alexander Isak or an Alexis Sanchez.

I agree with your take. There is no guaranteed 20 goal striker out there and any name that we will look at will bring an element of risk. There aren't a lot of 26-27 year old prime strikers that are going to guarantee the kind of numbers Haaland or Lewandowski are producing now. Then factor in our limited budget, we are again going to have to take a chance on whoever we bring it. It may be another youngish striker who has potential and we back to have the type of development that Isak did. As you say, we are all armchair recruitment experts, so we have to back the professionals who are experienced and make a living out of it. I think we worry more because our recruitment track record is extremely poor but so far INEOS seem to be doing a far better job than the previous management teams. I feel they are going to take a gamble and back a youngish striker who has tons of potential, has shown the ability to get into good areas and with development will continue to get better. In that sense, names like Sesko, Ekitike, Samu Agheghowa, Vlahovic etc make more sense than Osimhen or Gykores. Zirkzee is not a no 9 so will become a squad player, who will back up both the no 9 and no 10 positions. The striker we target will fight it out with Hojlund to be the starting striker. We will need both anyways over the course of a long season.

Another one who would be a bit of a reclamation project but seems to be coming good is Moise Kean. He was always highly lauded as a young player but now seems to have found maturity in his game.

 

[Rozay]

I agree with your take. There is no guaranteed 20 goal striker out there and any name that we will look at will bring an element of risk. There aren't a lot of 26-27 year old prime strikers that are going to guarantee the kind of numbers Haaland or Lewandowski are producing now. Then factor in our limited budget, we are again going to have to take a chance on whoever we bring it. It may be another youngish striker who has potential and we back to have the type of development that Isak did. As you say, we are all armchair recruitment experts, so we have to back the professionals who are experienced and make a living out of it. I think we worry more because our recruitment track record is extremely poor but so far INEOS seem to be doing a far better job than the previous management teams. I feel they are going to take a gamble and back a youngish striker who has tons of potential, has shown the ability to get into good areas and with development will continue to get better. In that sense, names like Sesko, Ekitike, Samu Agheghowa, Vlahovic etc make more sense than Osimhen or Gykores. Zirkzee is not a no 9 so will become a squad player, who will back up both the no 9 and no 10 positions. The striker we target will fight it out with Hojlund to be the starting striker. We will need both anyways over the course of a long season.

Another one who would be a bit of a reclamation project but seems to be coming good is Moise Kean. He was always highly lauded as a young player but now seems to have found maturity in his game.

I’d be surprised if any new striker is competing with Hojlund. I suspect we will sell, and possibly need to sell in order to bring in a new striker anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a new striker/Zirkzee supported by Chido next season. A striker will cost a bit and I imagine we will sell to buy.

 

[hasanejaz88]

Wish he had the body of Zirkzee, has all the talent and skill but doesn't seem physically strong and therefore can struggle in the league.

In the end, we really need someone more established that another younger player who might take time to adapt. He is really talented himself but we have talented, unproven, strikers already in Zirkzee and Hojlund.

As for Sesko being mentioned. The guy has a weird ability to score absolute worldies but misses simpler chances, if you look at his goals scored minus xG then it would say he's an amazing finisher but I think that is inflated by some great goals. Ultimately I think he's too inconsistent right now for a big team with expectations.

 

[Rozay]

Wish he had the body of Zirkzee, has all the talent and skill but doesn't seem physically strong and therefore can struggle in the league.

In the end, we really need someone more established that another younger player who might take time to adapt. He is really talented himself but we have talented, unproven, strikers already in Zirkzee and Hojlund.

As for Sesko being mentioned. The guy has a weird ability to score absolute worldies but misses simpler chances, if you look at his goals scored minus xG then it would say he's an amazing finisher but I think that is inflated by some great goals. Ultimately I think he's too inconsistent right now for a big team with expectations.

Sesko does miss a lot of chances. However, I see that as a positive at the moment. I’d give a lot to see Hojlund actually missing some chances, for example.

Also, I think ‘unproven, but talented’ is generous to describe Hojlund. If you watch Ekitike and Sesko play, it’s unfair to imply that Hojlund has anywhere near comparable talent.

 

[golden_blunder]

That said, perhaps I will offer opinion on Sesko now - for me, he’s the one. Osimhen and Gyokeres do not inspire me at all, and Osimhen in particular is apparently demanding huge money too.

Sesko has the biggest talent I feel. He has the best physical attributes for the PL and is technically superb too. He has touch, can dribble, head and shoot off both feet. I have no problem with him scoring ‘just’ 14 goals either, or if you ‘don’t hear of him’ (basically, he hasn’t scored a banger) for 5 games either. That’s all stat watching which I don’t really abide by. The difference between a ‘top striker’s 20+ goal season and them getting 14 goals is almost always 6 or 7 penalties anyway. You would struggle to find many amazing goalscorers in recent years who do not score 6+ league pens a season. 6 or so penalties a season is the difference between Isak being touted for 150m and 70m. It will also often be the difference between going 5 games without scoring and not doing so.

14 open play goals a season from a young striker is an exceptional return. If you add 6 pens he’s already a 20-goal guy, and the conversation (and price) is very different.

Thankfully, I think most top clubs see this, which is why they all want Sesko. He’s clearly the standout young centre forward in football, and if you watch him you will see he has all the tools you could want for the role, and seemingly a strong mentality too. I’ve said before, but with Bruno here, it has severely impacted our strikers with him taking on a role traditionally reserved for the number 9s. As much as I don’t rate Hojlund, I do think you see a very different player if he had the penalties instead of Bruno. No long goal droughts, just this week he could have had 3 goals in a week, and part of the reason our strikers haven’t racked up the numbers in recent years is because they don’t take pens. Salah, Haaland, Isak - the league’s leading scorers all get a good amount. All anyone remembers is that they scored 23 goals. After Bruno, I hope our 9 takes the pens, whoever he is.

I was gonna say that if Hojlund was taking penalties you’d probably be talking about a 15 goal haul now and a player who didn’t have the weight of the world on him for 21 games. It’s all context.

 

[Rozay]

I was gonna say that if Hojlund was taking penalties you’d probably be talking about a 15 goal haul now and a player who didn’t have the weight of the world on him for 21 games. It’s all context.

Well he’s only just scored his third league goal of the season from open play, so by any metric, it would not have been good enough anyway. I think the main difference is that with some penalties scored, it may have helped to retain his confidence and he’d have hopefully scored more from open play than the frankly unacceptable number he has currently. However, if we’re just going to add 6 or 7 pens to his 3 league goals, I don’t think that would be good enough either. Our number 9 needs to ideally be getting in the mid/late teens from open play hopefully, with the penalties then being used to take them towards being a 20-25 goal striker. This has been the formula used by most consistent goalscorers.

The issue with Hojlund is that he has to ultimately become a 25 goal striker to have a career here. Zirkzee, on the other hand, can be a regular with 16-18. Hojlund is nowhere near a good enough all round footballer to justify anything less than an amazing goal return. Haaland, similarly, cannot get away with scoring 15 goals for City. Gabriel Jesus probably could have.

 

[golden_blunder]

Well he’s only just scored his third league goal of the season from open play, so by any metric, it would not have been good enough anyway. I think the main difference is that with some penalties scored, it may have helped to retain his confidence and he’d have hopefully scored more from open play than the frankly unacceptable number he has currently. However, if we’re just going to add 6 or 7 pens to his 3 league goals, I don’t think that would be good enough either. Our number 9 needs to ideally be getting in the mid/late teens from open play hopefully, with the penalties then being used to take them towards being a 20-25 goal striker. This has been the formula used by most consistent goalscorers.

The issue with Hojlund is that he has to ultimately become a 25 goal striker to have a career here. Zirkzee, on the other hand, can be a regular with 16-18. Hojlund is nowhere near a good enough all round footballer to justify anything less than an amazing goal return. Haaland, similarly, cannot get away with scoring 15 goals for City. Gabriel Jesus probably could have.

Yeah I was thinking that if he’d scored penalties there wouldn’t have been the same pressure on him and he may have gone through it a different player

 

[Rozay]

Yeah I was thinking that if he’d scored penalties there wouldn’t have been the same pressure on him and he may have gone through it a different player

Almost certainly. Would have helped his confidence no end.

 

[didz]

Yeah I was thinking that if he’d scored penalties there wouldn’t have been the same pressure on him and he may have gone through it a different player

I wouldn't be surprised if Hojlund is just poor at them. Bruno has handed off penalties in the past with Rashford and Martial in the team when either had a drought. Not so with this lot.

 

[Rozay]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hojlund is just poor at them. Bruno has handed off penalties in the past with Rashford and Martial in the team when either had a drought. Not so with this lot.

He’s taken one which was in a shootout vs Coventry which he dispatched confidently enough.

 

[romufc]

Wish he had the body of Zirkzee, has all the talent and skill but doesn't seem physically strong and therefore can struggle in the league.

In the end, we really need someone more established that another younger player who might take time to adapt. He is really talented himself but we have talented, unproven, strikers already in Zirkzee and Hojlund.

As for Sesko being mentioned. The guy has a weird ability to score absolute worldies but misses simpler chances, if you look at his goals scored minus xG then it would say he's an amazing finisher but I think that is inflated by some great goals. Ultimately I think he's too inconsistent right now for a big team with expectations.

Never watched Ekitike play, is he just a link man then instead of a goal scoring striker?

Playing for a smaller club, I dont expect strikers to get huge numbers, it all depends on how threatening they look, can they hold the ball up, bring others into play?

Sesko for me is just another player who has been hyped up with a big fee. You've hit the nail on the head, he scores some absolute screamers, which pop up on social media and his stock goes up.

This is the problem, you cannot judge a player until you have watched him play full 90 minutes, basing signings on stats is not the right way because it varies depending on team form, league and opposition.

 

[Rozay]

Never watched Ekitike play, is he just a link man then instead of a goal scoring striker?

Playing for a smaller club, I dont expect strikers to get huge numbers, it all depends on how threatening they look, can they hold the ball up, bring others into play?

Sesko for me is just another player who has been hyped up with a big fee. You've hit the nail on the head, he scores some absolute screamers, which pop up on social media and his stock goes up.

This is the problem, you cannot judge a player until you have watched him play full 90 minutes, basing signings on stats is not the right way because it varies depending on team form, league and opposition.

Sesko has been one of the most coveted young strikers for many years already. Because a few casuals know little beyond a few highlight goals doesn’t mean that’s all he is. He was wanted at United before he went to Leipzig, and our initial interest is dated back to before he even went to Salzburg.

In any case, an ability to score spectacular goals at such a young age is testament to some fantastic qualities to work with.

 

[Red_toad]

Ektike’s game seems like a curious mix of wanchope (super languid), berbatov (ball control, outside foot) and martial (silky dribbles) all rolled in one for some weird reason. Physique seems slender thought his never bothered Son.

If his value is 40m-45 pounds I think it’s an okay price. Anywhere north of 50 million pounds is a risk. Then again, i might be wrong and he turn into Isaac II.

They want a similar fee to Marmoush, so I'd say we're out unless we get a lot of cash for Sancho, Rashford and Antony. Then cheap replacements for Eriksen, Lindelof, Heaton, Evans. Not to mention the other areas we need to strengthen.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I'd be very happy if we pulled this off.

 

[arthurka]

I can tell you all that Hojlund would be a really good striker in the BL, remember when Sancho tore it up at BVB. Sesko and Ekitike are enjoying a attacking minded league.

 

[Rozay]

I can tell you all that Hojlund would be a really good striker in the BL, remember when Sancho tore it up at BVB. Sesko and Ekitike are enjoying a attacking minded league.

Whereas the PL is famously defensive.

 

[andersj]

Exciting player, but his build is a bit of a worry.

 

[Apokalips]

I can tell you all that Hojlund would be a really good striker in the BL, remember when Sancho tore it up at BVB. Sesko and Ekitike are enjoying a attacking minded league.

Sancho tore it up before he came here, he went back and was rubbish. His performance is nothing to do with the league being easier. Haaland came to the PL and obliterated the season record...

 

[stefan92]

Never watched Ekitike play, is he just a link man then instead of a goal scoring striker?

He is Frankfurt's main "striker" for the whole season. But he was overshadowed in the first half of the season by Marmoush, who was the "link man" as you call it but at the same time the main goalscorer. Maybe you can compare Ekitike/Marmoush to Benzema/Ronaldo at Real in terms of their roles. When you look at Ekitike's stats you see 19g+8a in 38 games so far this season. That is a fair reflection of his role - mainly a striker, but always ready to assist another player. Watching him play right now however it's clear that he has to develop further. Mostly mentally, because now he is the leader of the line and expected to take responsibility. He has to grow into that role to become a top striker, but he isn't fully there yet.

Playing for a smaller club, I dont expect strikers to get huge numbers

Frankfurt are exceptional as they always have high scoring strikers (most of them fail elsewhere however). Until he moved to City Marmoush was racing Harry Kane for BL's top scorer trophy this season. Andre Silva outscored Haaland in the league, only beaten by Lewandowski. Randal Kolo Muani scored 26g+16a in 50 matches for Frankfurt. Even in their dark times they had club legend Alex Meier actually winning the BL's top scorer (in 2014/15).

 

[Kingslayer18]

I’d be surprised if any new striker is competing with Hojlund. I suspect we will sell, and possibly need to sell in order to bring in a new striker anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a new striker/Zirkzee supported by Chido next season. A striker will cost a bit and I imagine we will sell to buy.

Amorim has talked up Hojlund and commented a lot about the unseen work he's doing and the runs he's making. Now that could just be a coach trying to build up his striker's confidence but if you look at Hojlund's game, he actually fits what Amorim would look for as a no 9. That and the unlikelihood of us getting anywhere near where we paid for him makes me doubt he's going to be sold. They will probably give him at least another year then re-assess. If he's still struggling, they maybe then they will look to sell him. He's still 22 and years away from maturing but the coaches will have to decide whether he can up his game to be able to become a 20 goal striker. It's more likely Zirkzee gets sold despite his improvement, as they could get back what they paid for him.

 

[mitchmouse]

Is he demonstrably better than Rasmus… I’d rather have a striker from a top league. I’d take a Kane ahead of this guy

 

[Yoro]

He's on a hat trick against England currently, looks class.

 

[SilentWitness]

He's on a hat trick against England currently, looks class.

Got it now.