The no9 conversation rumbles on with no real conclusion or obvious option

YOU all have such contrasting opinions, its excellent to read.

Good Morning Ladies and Gents,

My article from yesterday was a no9 related one and my question to ALL of you was WHO do YOU want to see take up our starting striker role?

We had loads of comments from all of you and as always I am extremely thankful, with these participation articles they rely on all of you giving your thoughts and opinions and you did just that.

I am amazed by the amount of contrasting opinions, takes and thoughts on this ever changing debate and scenario. Some people are content with Jackson and a backup, some want us to throw the bank out for a top class 9 like an Isak or a Gyokeres and some are happy with the middle ground and a cheaper solution. MOST surprisingly a lot of people are happy with what we’ve got!

A really surprising comment which seems a lot of people agree with is the thought of chucking Marc Guiu straight in the first team fold, I have only seen him in clips and compilations so far and had only heard of him through an excellent Football Manager save where I signed him for Ipswich Town and he was excellent!

There’s still a fair bit of clamour for Victor Osimhen which completely surprises me to be honest, I do not rate him as I have mentioned countless times before and at over 100m its a ridiculous deal, you could go slightly higher and get an Isak or slightly lower and get Gyokeres or Alvarez, ALL of them are more suited to Enzo Maresca and Chelsea than Osimhen, again that’s just my opinion.

I gave you my opinion yesterday and now I am going to discuss the 3 most mentioned strikers in a little more detail whilst giving my thoughts on the player, the transfer and how they would fit in an Enzo Maresca style.

The 3 strikers mentioned the most were Dominic Solanke, Ivan Toney & Alexander Isak.

Dominic Solanke;

A Cobham boy and one of the brightest young attackers to come out of our academy setup in recent years, after 1 first team appearance he moved on to Liverpool on a free transfer in 2017 which lead to 27 first team appearances with the vast majority coming as a substitute for the odd few minutes here and there.

The following summer he was bought by Bournemouth, a slow start to life at The Cherries and a bit part role for the first 2 season, he came to life in The Championship and really start to improve his stock. After 2 season back in The Premier League he is now on 77 goals in 216 games for Bournemouth and has warranted a well deserved move after an excellent season under Andoni Iraola where he has improved tenfold and was unlucky to miss out on the England squad for the euros in my opinion.

Iraola’s style isn’t too dissimilar to Enzo Maresca’s, Solanke has proved he can adapt and can play different roles as a no9 with the same outcome. He can link play, get in behind, poach and has the ability to be in the right place at the right time.

For the right price he could be the perfect Striker to move us forward, I am very much for this move as long as the fee is correct, albeit, it isn’t my money and actually the money behind a deal doesn’t actually bother me too much as long as we sign the right profile of players.

Ivan Toney;

Toney has come through the ranks in a slightly different way to Solanke, he started in the lower leagues with Northampton before a move to Newcastle which sent him on multiple loans within the EFL. His first proper breakthrough came when Peterborough United decided to sign him permanently in 2018, he scored 49 goals in 94 games in his time at the club.

He then got a move to then Championship Brentford, since his move to Brentford Toney has cemented himself as a goal scorer in any competition he has featured. He has scored 72 in 141 games at better than a goal every other game. He has now established himself as an England international and is currently with the England squad at the euros.

He is an excellent hold up player, he is incredibly intelligent with his movement, has real spatial awareness to find himself in good positions, creates goals, scores a wide variety of goals and is really unselfish. There are obvious off the pitch concerns but the pros really outweigh the cons in my view.

He would suit the way Enzo likes his forward to play he can link up with the wingers and he can get in behind he can be involved in the buildup. I have always vouched for Toney and still will and do BUT it is a risky deal in my opinion still, from a financial stand point, like I say the fees involved don’t massively bother me BUT it feels like this one has to be right.

40m or less (more than doable) and this is an absolute no brainer to me.

Alexander Isak:

He grew up in the youth academy at AIK before transferring to Borussia Dortmund age 18, he didn’t get much of a chance with Dortmund and eventually left on loan to Willem II in the Eridivisie scoring 14 in 18 that season.

He was then bought by Real Sociedad in the following summer where he went on to develop in a top European league, he was involved in 62 goals in 136 games before his move to Newcastle United where he has scored 35 in 67.

He really has developed in to a top class centre forward, he is Henry like (not ability) in the way he plays, he glides across the pitch, has a real presence, can score goals, create goals and dribbles brilliantly.

He has the ability to adapt to any style and any formation and would be the best option bar none to sign, he will be extremely expensive which throws this move in to doubt unfortunately. He is by far and away the dream signing for me.

Thank you all for reading.

Luke Rushbrook