Joe Cole believes Chelsea and Arsenal should look to a record-breaking Champions League striker to solve their goalscoring issues.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal are expected to sign new strikers this summer and ex-England midfielder Cole believes Serhou Guirassy would be an ideal signing.
Borussia Dortmund were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the quarter-finals but Guirassy still made history with his superb hat-trick.
The Guinea international became the first African player to score a hat-trick in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and ended the campaign with the most goals by an African player.
Guirassy, 29, holds the same record for Borussia Dortmund, having surpassed Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Barcelona’s Robert Lewadowski with his performances in Europe this season.
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‘It’s an amazing feeling to be the top African scorer in the Champions League, especially among so many incredible players,’ he said after the match.
‘Leading the charts shows I’m a strong finisher, but none of it would be possible without the support of my teammates. I can’t achieve this on my own.’
The focus soon turned to Guirassy during TNT Sports’ analysis of the game and Cole suggested he could be on the move in the summer, with a host of clubs in need of a new striker.
That is certainly the case for Chelsea and Arsenal and Cole reckons Guirassy ‘has the ability’ to play for both London clubs.
‘The recruitment team at Dortmund are incredible,’ Cole said after Barcelona survived a scare to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
‘They have some system there because players feel at home there. Guirassy, how much would he go for now? They will be queuing up for him I’m sure.’
Asked if Guirassy could pop up at one of his former clubs, West Ham, Cole added: ‘A lot of strikers have missed at West Ham so I’d leave them.
‘I think Chelsea, he can play that role. Arsenal, maybe. He’s got that ability. If you’re putting the ball in the back of the net at that rate, you can pick your club and pick your money.’
Owen Hargreaves also said Guirassy, who has scored 28 goals so far this season, would be a ‘perfect’ addition for Premier League clubs.
Guirassy netted 30 goals for Stuttgart last season before earning an €18m move to 2024 Champions League finalists Dortmund.
Asked whether Premier League clubs should be looking at Guirassy this summer, Hargreaves said: ‘He would be perfect.
‘He scored a ton of goals at Stuttgart and he’s scored a ton of goals at Dortmund. Look at his numbers, that’s the best of the best.
‘He’ll be telling his agent to sort something out. He’s at a brilliant football club but teams are going to look at him – how many teams need to sign strikers this summer?
‘Whatever happens he’s had a brilliant season, he can be really proud.’
Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac was full of praise for Guirassy following his impressive performance against Barcelona.
Dortmund beat Barca 3-1 on the night but were still eliminated from the Champions League after being battered 4-0 at the Nou Camp.
‘It’s very difficult to single out one player today because everyone was good,’ said Kovac. ‘But three goals against Barcelona from Serhou [Guirassy] is of course a great performance.
‘He’s our life insurance and could have scored even more goals today. But Serhou also needs the support of his team-mates and he got that today.’
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