It is the summer of the striker.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all sought to add more firepower to their front line in the transfer market with the signings Alexandre Lacazette, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku, while Liverpool have confirmed that Roberto Firmino will wear the hallowed No. 9 shirt next season for the Reds.
They will find themselves up against Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero in the race to win the golden boot and major honours in the Premier League and beyond in 2018, and while millions have already been spent on signing defenders and midfielders during the current transfer window, the biggest deals have been saved for these goalscorers.
England is expecting a season in which finishers decide the destiny of the trophies up for grabs at home and abroad, and if all goes to plan, records could be broken. Chelsea’s haul of 103 goals in 2009/10 is still the total to beat, but individual quality up front won’t be enough to make history.
While football may become an individual event for strikers when they are one-on-one with the goalkeeper, everything up until that chance comes down to teamwork and how well they well they combine with the players and system around them.
Now that every member of the Premier League’s so-called “top six” have nailed down who will be their first-choice centre-forward for the new season, the question remains as to which attacker fits their club best.
Arsenal – Alexandre Lacazette
What Arsenal needed: a fast striker to sprint beyond the last man and get on the end of incisive passes from midfield
What Arsenal got: a fast striker who excels at playing off the shoulder of the last man to finish off big chances and get on the end of through balls
Last season, Lacazette scored 18 non-penalty goals in Ligue 1 as Lyon’s first choice striker, the most prolific team for attempted and completed through balls (157 and 60, respectively) in Europe’s top five leagues for 2016/17.
In the Premier League, Arsenal came top for trying to play the killer ball to slice through a defence (129) and were joint second for chances created inside the penalty area (105).
Alexis Sanchez bumped up that total as the most trigger happy player for trying to force a through ball with 48 attempts, only nine of which came off. The Chilean looks set to stay at the Emirates for one more season at least and in Lacazette he should find a runner who make more out of his enthusiasm to ping a pass forward.
He won’t be the only playmaker looking out for the Frenchman and his movement off the ball. Mesut Ozil has reigned over the English top flight as the Premier League’s most create player since the start of the 2014/15 season, and bagged 19 assists from 144 chances in 2015/16 when he was the focal point of the team.
Lacazette will effectively be the goal-scoring extension to Arsenal’s two key protagonists rather than a leading man in his own right, and that should suit Arsene Wenger’s side down to the ground.
Rating: A-
Chelsea – Alvaro Morata
What Chelsea needed: a tenacious and resourceful forward to replace Diego Costa as a finisher and link up player, bringing the other members of the team’s attack into play
What Chelsea got: a young, quick and technically gifted all-rounder who can dribble, hold up play and score goals, but is a more placid presence than his predecessor
After missing out on Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, Chelsea turned to Real Madrid’s wantaway second-choice striker Alvaro Morata to take Diego Costa’s place at the head of a team that stormed to the Premier League title last season winning more matches (30) than any previous champion or team.
The decision to move away from playing with a back four to lining up in a 3-4-2-1 shape proved to be a masterstroke for manager Antonio Conte, with the Blues using their extra defender and two flying wing-backs to sit back, soak up pressure and hit their opponents back hard on the counter.
No team managed to take more shots (18) or score more goals (seven) from fast breaks last season than Chelsea, with Eden Hazard putting away four of those chances himself, yet it was Costa who ranked top for points won through his goals and assists – calculated by how results would have changed without his contributions on the field.
Morata is a different proposition to the Brazil-born Spain international, however. He is a calmer and more serene presence up front who lacks the the fight and fire that made Costa such a favourite with the Stamford Bridge faithful.
In his final season for Real Madrid, he was used as an impact sub off the bench, or as a back-up to Karim Benzema to be rotated in and out of the starting line-up, yet he took his chances whenever they came, scoring 1.01 goals per 90 minutes in La Liga.
A product of the club’s youth academy, he returned to the Bernabeu in 2016 after a two year spell with Juventus, during which he proved his pedigree as a big game player by scoring against Madrid in both legs of their Champions League semi-final tie with the Italians in 2015, and in the final against Barcelona. He also impressed as Spain’s leading man at Euro 2016, in place of Costa.
Morata is not a like-for-like replacement but he does’t have to be. His strengths lie in his hold up play, finishing ability and impressive agility and poise for a player measuring up at six-foot-one. The Spaniard is a strong dribbler, tough enough to battle with defenders and capable of playing team mates through on goal, and shouldn’t hold Chelsea back on the counter-attack.
One quality he does not possess is the unsettling sense of menace which made Costa such an effective presence in the final third for the Blues.
Rating: B+
Liverpool – Roberto Firmino
What Liverpool needed: a hard-working player to win the ball high up the pitch to create chances for runners from wide and deep, whose movement can confuse defenders and pull them out of position
What Liverpool got: a hard-working player who wins the ball high up the pitch and creates chances for runners from wide and deep, using his movement to confuse defenders and pull them out of position
Traditionalists may still complain that Jurgen Klopp’s side are short of a striker but Liverpool are a more dangerous team for deploying Firmino up front instead of an orthodox centre-forward.
An attacking midfielder or second striker by trade, the Brazilian has been described as a false nine, and while he may not have topped the charts for goals scored for the Reds last season, that wasn’t the point of his role in the team.
He made more ball-winning actions per 90 minutes in the final third than any other attacker in the Premier League in 2016/17 in a team that created the most chances in the penalty area (107) and won the most tackles inside and around the opposition’s box (54).
Liverpool pose a collective threat to defences rather than relying on one key focal point up front. Injuries and fatigue held them back last year as their squad struggled to keep up with the intensity demanded by Klopp, but for much of the season they lead the ways for goals scored and chances created.
This summer they purchased Mohamed Salah from Roma – another fast-footed wide player to join Sadio Mane, who should be able to help carry the load and add another dimension to their play – and Dominic Solanke, who has all the attributes to become Firmino’s very own understudy.
Rating: A
Manchester City – Sergio Aguero
What City needed: a forward who can hold the ball-up and make penetrative runs in behind but also has the ability to drop deep and play across the pitch, linking up with teammates and facilitating their forward runs
What City got: a prolific goalscorer who has become used to playing as a poacher in the Premier League but still has the ability to drop back to play a more well-rounded role in his team’s attack
Pep Guardiola already possessed an embarrassment of riches to play around with at Manchester City even before the arrival of Gabriel Jesus in January 2017.
Yet the Brazilian was touted as a threat to Sergio Aguero and his place in the side, despite the Argentinian boasting the best goals per minute ratio in Premier League history, not least due to his disappearances from the starting line-up, and how impressive City looked with Kevin De Bruyne up front against Barcelona in November 2016.
It took time for the former Atletico Madrid striker to adjust to what his manager wanted from him, mainly to provide more than just a presence inside the box to buy into the Catalan’s philosophy based around positional play, but by the end of their first campaign together, it appeared that a solution had been found.
City ended the season in rampant form with Aguero playing as a withdrawn forward and Jesus in a fluid role that saw him line up on the right wing before drifting into the penalty area. Behind them, moving forward from midfield, were De Bruyne and David Silva – the two “free eights” charged with controlling games and creating chances from deep.
However, even before City’s late-season epiphany, the club were ranked first for created big chances (101) – goal-scoring opportunities in which the shooter is played into a one-on-one situation or at very close range to the goal – and were second for through ball (124).
Their business this summer has seen another technically gifted attacking midfielder added to Guardiola’s pack in Bernardo Silva to join wingers Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling as an additional option capable of opening defences up.
It will be up to Aguero to prove that the final weeks of last season were something to build on rather than a false dawn. Having grown used to being an out-and-out goalscorer in the Premier League, adaptions may still need to be made.
Rating: B
Manchester United – Romelu Lukaku
What United needed: a strong and robust centre-forward who can finish chances, bully defenders and dominate in the air
What United got: a big striker with good movement and a solid goal-scoring record who is best when the ball is played to his feet
Signing Lukaku was a PR win for United who could lord over the fact they captured the Belgian from under the noses of last season’s Premier League champions, but the 24-year-old is a very different sort of striker to the player he has replaced at Old Trafford.
Last season, Jose Mourinho’s side was built to service Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose size, strength and age made the Swede a powerful yet static presence in the final third. He was effective, however, and scored 17 goals and created five assists in the league in the least prolific side in the top six.
United finished bottom of the Premier League’s Europe-chasing mini-league in 2017 and in spite of his individual tally for goals, Ibrahimovic was criticised for scuffing easy chances and inhibiting his team mates and their potential for hitting opponents at speed, on the break and with more movement in the final third.
After he was ruled out with a major injury in April 2017, Mourinho turned to playing the more mobile Marcus Rashford up front, whose greater pace and agility perked up the midfield play, especially Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Frenchman was second for through balls last season with 12 completed from 28 attempts. Lukaku is a formidable opponent for defenders to deal with due to his size, movement and ability to take the ball past his markers and has all the attributes to be exactly the sort of striker United will want to be getting on the end of their star midfielder’s incisive passes from deep.
He will still need to make the step up to become the consistent finisher he will need to be in order to make the move a success.
Rating: B-
Tottenham Hotspur – Harry Kane
What Spurs needed: a hard-working centre-forward who can lead the line, link up play, win the ball high up the field and finish off chances
What Spurs got: a hard-working centre-forward who can lead the line, link up play, win the ball high up the field and finish off chances
Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to last season’s golden boot winner to pick up where he left off in 2017 to ensure Spurs keep over-delivering in 2018.
Kane scored 29 goals in 2016/17, more than any other player, in a team that was second only to Manchester City for creating big chances, with 82.
Tottenham have the most settled side in the division, and one of the youngest, and another year on they will need to show they have matured and improved once again as they try and win the title at the third time of asking, and finally crack the Champions League.
While Kane’s impact as a finisher is obvious, he is also a key fixture in a well-oiled team that play to a disciplined system that saw Dele Alli and Son Heung-min scored 18 and 14 goals, respectively, in support of the striker, who still does more than the average centre-forward, even as he begins to believe the hype and take more shots for himself.
The centre-piece of Pochettino’s team, he is irreplaceable for Spurs, and the perfect striker for how they like to play.
Rating: A+
Who is the best fit striker?
Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur are the most ideal match of striker, club, teammates and style of play.
There will be few concerns over how the Englishman will perform over the coming season assuming he stays fit – the same can also be said for Firmino and Liverpool, although the Englishman’s greater individual impact tips the balance in his favour.
Of the summer arrivals, Lacazette seems the best suited to his new team at Arsenal, although Lukaku has all the attributes to be exactly what Manchester United need if he can raise his game. While Morata may not be Diego Costa he is an excellent all-rounder who should fit Antonio Conte’s needs.
Ultimately, none of the top six appear to have erred in their deliberations over which players should be leading the line next season.
If the Premier League goes to a shoot out between the top strikers in the division who would say no to that?
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