Summer Striker Carousel: Who ends up where?

Karan Ahgun

— 3 min read
Summer Striker Carousel: Who ends up where?

Before the 24/25 season ended, the expectation was that many clubs would be aiming to bring in a top-class striker to bolster their goalscoring capabilities for next season. The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been linked with signing strikers this summer, and Chelsea have already acted by signing Liam Delap from Ipswich Town this week. This leaves players such as Benjamin Šeško and Viktor Gyökeres still available on the market, so who could end up where?

If you told Arsenal fans that Manchester City would have had the season that they had in 24/25, many would think that they would be in pole position to win their first Premier League title in 20 years. But as we know, this did not come to fruition due to inconsistency and a lack of goal threat compared to previous title challenging seasons. This is why there exists a lot of clamour amongst the Arsenal fanbase for the club to make a statement striker signing this summer. The two names the Gunners have most been linked to are, Benjamin Šeško and Viktor Gyökeres. These players are completely different in terms of their profiles - Šeško is a young, promising talent who doesn't score as many goals as Gyökeres but is better playing outside the box and aerially. The difference in profiles being targeted could be down to a difference in striker preference between Mikel Arteta and Arsenal's new Sporting Director, Andrea Berta. However, it now seems that the Gunners have decided to move on Šeško and are currently in talks with RB Leipzig over a deal which could reportedly reach around £70m. The Slovenian forward will perhaps need some time to adjust to the league and will be under pressure to beat his 24/25 goal tally of 21 goals in all competitions.

Whilst Arsenal push forward with a move for Šeško, Viktor Gyökeres' options in the Premier League look slim. It has been reported that the Swede would want a move to a Premier League club this summer but as of right now, no one has made a formal approach to Sporting CP for him. However, this could all change in a few weeks as it has been reported that Manchester United could make a move for Gyökeres once they make some sales. United have already signed Matheus Cunha and are on the brink of agreeing a deal for Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo. Adding Gyökeres would see a full reset of United's frontline, which underperformed massively last season, and would be exactly what Ruben Amorim wants. There is the issue of strikers from the Portuguese League not being able to settle in straight away and continue their goalscoring form but Gyökeres could have advantages which others like Darwin Nuñez didn't. Firstly, if a move to Manchester United materialises, the Swede will be playing in a system he knows like the back of his hand, and will be playing for the manager who has got the best productivity out of him. Secondly, Gyökeres has played in England before for Brighton and Coventry City, so adjusting to the physicality and intensity of English football may not be as long a process as it would be for other players. Whilst a deal has not formally been approached, it does seem that a reunion with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United in likely for Viktor Gyökeres.

So with strikers in such high demand at the top clubs in the Premier League, it will be intriguing to see to ends up where and who ultimately makes the biggest impact for their respective teams. Each of the strikers discussed in this article bring their own strengths and weaknesses and it is up to their next clubs to find a way to utilise these strengths in order to get as much success as possible!

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