Strikers often command the biggest transfer fees with Premier League clubs happy to pay a premium for a guarantee of goals.
Less than a week remains of the transfer window, but several sides are still scrambling to secure the services of a reliable goalscorer. We’ve looked at five forwards who could move to English football before the window slams shut.
Five strikers who could join Premier League clubs before the deadline:
Beto
Everton’s shortage of goals has been well-documented with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s misfortune with injuries having left the Toffees short of firepower.
That appears close to changing as Everton close in on a deal to sign Beto from Udinese, with reports that the club have agreed to activate the 25-year-old’s €30m release clause.
The 6ft 4in Portuguese powerhouse has scored 10+ goals in each of the last two Serie A campaigns for Udinese and could be the ideal solution to Everton’s lack of presence in the final third.
BETO: 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗖𝗛 🇵🇹 @Udinese_1896 #UdineseLecce pic.twitter.com/Eiy22enEoY
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) November 5, 2022
Neal Maupay and Demarai Gray have unsuccessfully tried to fill the Calvert-Lewin void, but Beto is capable of influencing the game in both boxes – having ranked in the 90th percentile of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for clearances last season.
After opening the season with consecutive defeats and no goals scored, his impending arrival could hardly be more timely.
Youssef En-Nesyri
Youssef En-Nesyri has been regularly linked with a Premier League move in recent transfer windows and West Ham are believed to be negotiating for the Sevilla striker.
The Hammers have a long-term interest in the Moroccan, who scored 18 goals in all competitions as Sevilla won the Europa League last season.
En-Nesyri is excellent in the air and boasts a giant leap, with the 26-year-old providing a reminder of his athleticism with a headed goal in Sevilla’s UEFA Super Cup defeat to Manchester City.
An 𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 view for an 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲 player ✈️#LALIGAEASPORTS | #LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/uS1tjzcvV8
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) August 17, 2023
West Ham remain determined to sign a centre-forward with Michail Antonio ageing and Gianluca Scamacca having departed for Atalanta. Experienced as a lone forward, En-Nesyri appears the perfect profile for a David Moyes’ side. The prospect of the forward attacking crosses from James Ward-Prowse would be a fearsome one for opposition sides.
Gift Orban
Gift Orban’s goalscoring gifts have alerted Europe’s bigger leagues, with the Nigerian having made an extraordinary impact at Belgian side Gent.
Orban finished as the top scorer in the Norwegian First Division in 2022 to earn a January move to Gent, where the 21-year-old has since averaged a goal-per-game with 26 goals scored in just 26 appearances.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Orban, who has three career hat-tricks and one four-goal haul, including the fastest ever UEFA club competition treble, scored in three minutes and 25 seconds against İstanbul Başakşehir in last season’s Europa Conference League.
A Premier League move would represent a sharp step up, but Orban has handed each leap with ease to date. A queue of English clubs are understood to have enquired into the Nigerian’s availability, with Spurs leading the race. Fulham, Chelsea and Manchester United have also been linked.
Jonathan David
Jonathan David has been linked with a move to the Premier League, following three productive seasons with Lille in Ligue 1.
The 23-year-old has scored 53 goals in 114 league appearances for the French side, including a career-best return of 24 goals in 2022/23.
Having performed in various roles across the frontline since arriving from Gent, David has settled in a centre-forward position where he has thrived in dropping deep to link the game.
Still just 23-years-old and with a record of 25 goals in 42 appearances at international level, he has been linked with Spurs as the north Londoners look to reinvest their Harry Kane windfall.
Jonathan David 🎯🇨🇦
📹 @Ligue1_ENGpic.twitter.com/T0NMevoJQs
— Vibes Foot (@VibesFoot) September 6, 2022
“I don’t know if I can find myself anywhere other than the Premier League.” David told La Voic du Nord last December when discussing his future.
Dusan Vlahovic
Dusan Vlahovic has been at the centre of a transfer saga this summer, with Juventus attempting to use the Serbian as bait in a deal to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.
The issue, however, is that Juventus are also demanding a significant sum of cash in part-exchange. Chelsea have so far refused the terms of a potential swap, but the situation could change as the deadline approaches with the west Londoners light at centre-forward and keen to offload Lukaku.
Vlahovic signed for Juventus in an €80m deal from Fiorentina in January 2022 and is a forward with huge potential, despite an underwhelming return of 24 goals in 64 appearances for the Turin side.
Real Madrid have also been linked with Vlahovic, though Carlo Ancelotti has stated no new arrivals are expected at the Bernabeu before the deadline.
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