The summer of the striker: Breaking down the Premier League’s three biggest arrivals

It has, without doubt, been the summer of the striker for several of the biggest Premier League clubs during this long and drawn-out transfer window.

The defending champions Liverpool led the way, not resting on their laurels and instead recruiting Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt to replace the misfiring Darwin Nunez.

Arsenal were the title contenders most in need of a new striker, having been forced to deploy Mikel Merino as a makeshift centre forward for a large portion of last season.

The Gunners initially seemed to be leaning towards Benjamin Sesko, but instead were seduced by the staggering output of Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting Lisbon.

Arsenal’s choice was eventually to Manchester United’s gain, as the Red Devils saw off interest from Newcastle United to lure Sesko to Old Trafford to complete Ruben Amorim’s new-look front three.

But how will each club fare with their new attacking weapons as they look to contend in the title race or revive their league fortunes?

In the first edition of Transfer Talk, Metro has a look at the numbers behind the Premier League’s three newest high-profile strikers to find out.

Can Viktor Gyokeres translate remarkable goalscoring to the Premier League?

Gyokeres arrives on English shores as Europe’s most prolific goalscorer in the last two seasons.

Plucked from relative obscurity after a prolific campaign in the Championship with Coventry City, the Swede enjoyed two remarkable campaigns in Portugal: 66 league games, 68 league goals, and two league titles.

Even taking away his 12 penalties in the Portuguese league this season, Gyokeres’ tally of 27 non-penalty league goals was three times as many as Arsenal’s leading goalscorer in the league last season (Havertz, nine).

And it’s not just his goalscoring exploits that catch the eye, but also his all-round play. Quick, strong and able to dribble with the ball superbly in the channels, Gyokeres created 62 chances for his Sporting teammates in the league last season. Only Martin Odegaard (63) created more in an Arsenal shirt.

What remains to be seen, however, is how Gyokeres and his game can adapt to the rigours of a top European league. 

In Portugal, the 27-year-old was often afforded vast expanses to run into and create chances, but those opportunities may not be as readily available to him in an Arsenal side that are often forced to break down low blocks to create their chances.

In addition, while he is also able to use his size and strength to hold up play, Gyokeres isn’t as comfortable coming short with his back to goal or in the air, two traits often required of an Arsenal striker in Arteta’s system.

Gyokeres undoubtedly has the raw materials to be the missing piece for Arsenal at the top of the pitch, but whether Arteta can tweak his system to give the Swede the best chance of adjusting to the step up remains to be seen.

Is Hugo Ekitike’s wastefulness a concern?

Although Liverpool cruised to the title last season in Arne Slot’s first campaign on Merseyside, the need for a striker in the off-season was obvious. 

Luis Diaz, since departed for Bayern Munich, played a third of his minutes up front despite naturally being a left winger, while the misfiring Nunez never managed to gain the trust of Slot before his exit to Saudi Arabia.

While the Reds still harbour ambitions of completing an audacious swoop for Alexander Isak, they have already made great strides to fill the striker berth with the signing of Ekitike for an initial fee of £69million.

The Frenchman enjoyed a productive first full season in the Bundesliga, scoring 15 and assisting eight, and has already shown signs of his potential with a goal in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace.

In many ways, Ekitike should be a perfect fit for Slot’s fluid attacking unit. The 23-year-old is a superb dribbler with the ball and is more than adept at dropping deep to link up play and create chances for his teammates.

Combined with that is his consistent ability to get himself into great goalscoring positions. Last season, Ekitike registered 0.76 xG (expected goals) per ninety minutes, a figure which is greater than each of the Premier League’s top three scorers from last year.

It is, however, right to raise concerns over what could be perceived as wasteful finishing on Ekitike’s behalf. While Mohamed Salah scored 29 goals from his 27.71 expected goals, Ekitke managed just 15 from his 23.09 xG.

One season of marked underperformance should not inform all future projections, and Liverpool will hope that with age and coaching, Ekitike can learn to better take the host of great chances he creates for himself.

But with an expensive price tag hanging over his head, the pressure will be on the Frenchman to hit the ground running and not fall victim to a similar fate as his predecessor, Nunez.

Is Benjamin Sesko the finished article yet?

After a season in which they ranked 19th in the Premier League for shot conversion rate, United have put a premium on refreshing their attacking options this summer.

Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo both come with plenty of Premier League experience, but it is the acquisition of RB Leipzig forward Sesko that comes with the biggest risk, but potentially the biggest reward.

At 6ft 5in, the Slovenian international is a physical specimen blessed with pace, plenty of power and an eye for a spectacular finish.

As capable of dropping deep as he is pinning both centre-backs and being a threat in the air, Sesko should provide an immediate upgrade on Rasmus Hojlund and give Amorim a far greater focal point to his attack.

But while it’s easy to get seduced by his raw attributes, at just 22, he is just that: raw. 

13 league goals last season was not a terrible return playing for an RB Leipzig side that struggled for large swathes of the campaign, but his 0.37xG per 90 is only marginally better than what Joshua Zirkzee managed last year (0.34 per 90).

And looking further at his shot map from last season shows a striker who is more than capable of pulling off the remarkable, but also susceptible to spurning a golden opportunity when it falls his way inside the box.

That’s not unusual for a player of his age, and Sesko has certainly improved noticeably in his two seasons in Germany. 

But having been burned two years ago when they spent heavily on the potential of Hojlund, United will be hopeful that the pressures of Old Trafford will not weigh too heavily on their latest big-money recruit.

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