This summer, more than any previously, has been the summer of speculation, rumour and big moves for some of Europe’s best and most sought after number 9s. With a couple of weeks to go in this window, let’s take a look at the deals that have already been struck and a few more that might get over the line by September 1.
Arsenal top brass have finally listened to their fans cries. They got their number 9. The Victor Gyokores saga is over and he is headed to the Emirates. This signing finally gives Arsenal what they seemed to need over the past few years. A proven goal scorer who can carry the burden in the tight situations and be the main target man that lessens the load on someone like Kai Havertz to go play in positions that suit him more.
Gyokores’ numbers for Sporting were absolutely terrifying since his transfer from Coventry. 68 goals in 66 games, as well as 17 assists in the league, with another six goals in eight Champions League games this past season. Simply put, he has become one of Europe’s best. Arsenal have scored 248 goals in the league over the last three seasons without a top class front man. If he can find his form and prove himself in the Premier League like he did in Portugal, it might be Mikel Arteta’s team that finally get their hands on the Premier League trophy.
The Arne Slot era on Merseyside got off to a decent enough start I suppose. A first Premier League title wrestled from Manchester City since Liverpool did it previously in the 2019/20 season, and it doesn’t seem like they’re ready to give it up anytime soon. They already signed, arguably, the world’s most talented youngster in Florian Wirtz for a record £116 million, they followed that up with the signings of Milos Kerkez and Jeramie Frimpong to sure up their full back spots. Then they beat Newcastle to secure the signature of mercurial striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt. Although his numbers aren’t as impressive as the likes of Gyokores or Isak, they talent is substantial. His 15 goals and 8 assists in the Bundesliga last year are highly respectable numbers and considering he can play wide, drop deep and play as the main number 9, his playstyle fits perfectly into Liverpool’s free flowing, sometimes positionless attack.
It also seems that Liverpool aren’t done in their attempt’s to build their squad. The aforementioned Alexander Isak has been one of the best strikers in the Premier League and a dream signing for all the top sides for the last couple of seasons, racking up 20 goals in each of the last wo campaigns. Newcastle were rumoured to be looking at Ekitike as a replacement for Isak as they were expecting that the Swede would want to move on to bigger and better things. Liverpool have just rubbed salt into the Toon’s wounds, after pipping them to Ekitike, they also bid £120 million for their main man and he has expressed his desire to go. Liverpool looked strong last year and have come out in this transfer window ready to spend big to ensure they remain atop of the English game and bring more European glory back to Anfield.
With the signing of Ekitike and the interest in Isak, the Darwin Nunez experiment in red has come to an end. Struggling for consistency, it looks like Slot would rather replace and cash in on what Nunez could offer another side rather than give the former Benfica man another chance. Napoli seemed to be the destination but after their acquisition of Lorenzo Lucca from Udinese, Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League have swooped in to bring him over for around £55 million. Nunez seemed to want to stay in Europe but I’d imagine the five-year contract, earning £20 million per year potentially swayed his thinking. The out of favour Uruguayan has had a huge admirer in manager Simone Inzaghi, and the former striker has got his main target.
Newcastle can hold strong in their resolve to keep Isak for the time being as he still has another 3 years left on his current deal and they won’t be quick to sell him to a rival. They wanted to find an adequate replacement before they cash in on their star man and after missing out on Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko became the priority for Eddie Howe’s side. Sesko has had plenty of suitors over the last year with Arsenal flip flopping between him or Gyokores before going for the latter. Since then the interest from Newcastle and Manchester United has intensified with Jim Ratcliffe and the allure of Manchester United being enough to convince him to link up with the Red Devils. He has scored 27 goals over the past two seasons, which might not be jaw dropping numbers, but his attributes and the fact he only turned 22 make him a mouth watering prospect.
Newcastle are now in desperation mode as Eddie Howe’s sky high ambitions will include keeping Newcastle United in the Champions League and challenging for more titles to add to his League Cup triumph last season. Although they will be more than happy to keep Isak, at least until January, finding a proficient replacement is something they will want to address sooner rather than later. After a fantastic season you would think that playing some of the most exciting football in Europe, in the Champions League, in front of some of the best fans in the world would be enough to lure at least one of your main targets. However, when England’s two biggest clubs come knocking, it’s hard to say no.
Yoanne Wissa is another player that Eddie Howe has his sights on. The 28-year-old again proved his qualities last season as one of the most feared and adaptable players in England. The Brentford front man combined with Bryan Mbuemo across the front line and chalked up 19 league goals. The Bees are trying their best to keep hold of their star man as they already lost Mbuemo to the red side of Manchester and club captain Christian Norgaard to the red side of North London. Wissa has expressed his desire to leave as his career reaches the latter stages he feels that now is his chance to ply his trade in the Champions League and all signs are pointing to him, eventually, getting that wish.
Manchester United have spent £85 million on Benjamin Sesko and it looks like he will take over the main striker duties from the struggling Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee. The Portuguese manager and United have already sent out a statement of intent early in the window when they signed two of the league’s most exciting attackers, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo. Players with experience in the league and the arrogance to prove they can play at the top and drag the club up with them. The intent from the manager at the style of player he wants is clear and it shows that his authority has been established in the club. Three new stars, complete with club captain Bruno Fernandes, we could see a whole new side come the start of the season.
Another part of Amorim’s revamp is opening the exit door nice and wide. Alejandro Garnacho is sitting there already, like a bold child, he’s just waiting for someone to come collect. One name who was destined to leave, to a dream destination by his own admission, was Marcus Rashford. He has left his tumultuous relationship with United for the sunny streets of Barcelona and has seemed to be settling in nicely during pre season. The talent was always there, as we saw during his loan spell at Aston Villa last year and which he will be hoping to show again to get a permanent deal pushed through. This move is really do or die at the very top level for the 27-year-old and Barcelona’s open, expansive style of football will suit the Carrington graduate’s talents, if he can ensure that his attitude is up to scratch and he finds form, there may be a new permanent home.
One team that is always involved in some sort of transfer activity is Chelsea. Needless to say there have been a lot of players who signed at Chelsea that are now looking to get out for regular game time. Joao Felix is gone to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Al Nassr, Madueke linking up with London rivals Arsenal, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has joined David Moyes at Everton signing. Carney Chukwuemeka is looking likely to return to German Giants Borrussia Dortmund on a permanent basis and Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu will be arriving at Burnley together. As well as that, it looks likely that the exit door will be held open for Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Christopher Nkunku and now Nicolas Jackson. Of course, there will be a boat load of loanee’s that will be allowed to ply their trade away from Cobham for the upcoming season.
Now, back to the article at hand, strikers. Chelsea set their post out early, triggering the £30 million release for Liam Delap. The exciting youngster who bagged 12 goals for a struggling Ipswich side last year. His target man presence and willingness to work the channels, as well as his instincts around the box made him a mouth watering talent and someone that Chelsea had to have. Their other signing, Joao Pedro, has always been linked to a big move. He is an interesting one though, with only 19 goals for Brighton in the last two seasons he seems as more of a false 9 than a main man. This does offer the interesting topic of playing with the two up front as part of a 3-5-2 and see how the two play off each other.
Christopher Nkunku will ultimately go down as a flop. He arrived at Chelsea with so much promise after dazzling the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig and looked to continue that form with the Blues. The emergence of Cole Palmer and Jackson being first choice number 9 led to limited play time and inevitably his departure will come at some stage during this window. Nicolas Jackson falls under the same category of Darwin Nunez. Huge talent. A massive handful, strong, quick, a workhorse and an awful addiction to missing chances. Although he has got 24 goals over the last two league campaigns the frustration surrounding the Senegalese international is his lack of composure in front of goal. Manchester United were rumoured to be linked with him but it seems they have pivoted in another direction.
Whoever does get Jackson will be keen on what he can offer and hope they can finally unlock the potential that he has. At 24-years-old, it’s a risk worth taking. Armando Broja has had two frustrating loan deals at Fulham and Everton, failing to net at either club after promising stints at Vitesse Arnhem and Southampton. Burnley have nothing to lose taking a punt on a striker who has battled injuries but showed extreme promise in his early career. Again, a young player at only 23 years old Scott Parker will be eager to develop him into the front man he needs to keep The Clarets in the top flight. Marc Guiu arrived from Barcelona after only three senior appearances for the Blaugrana but plenty of hype from the promise he showed in his youth days. He only made three Premier League appearances but racked up six goals in seven games in the Conference League. He has joined Sunderland on loan for the upcoming season and regular game time in the Premier League will give him the experience he needs to succeed at this level and will show us more of what he could potentially offer Chelsea going forward.
I wrote about Evan Ferguson previously when he secured his loan move to West Ham United. He only appeared eight times for the Hammers and failed to get a goal. The pressure of that move, his return to fitness and West Ham’s overall poor play contributed to his poor return but it seems that he has found his fitness and form in the recent preseason games for Roma. He’s already got two goals in their three games thus far and seems to be settling in well. Roma have a strong history of developing young players and although Ferguson has had a tough time recently, this seems the perfect place where he can gain his confidence again and return to the starboy mantra that was placed on him when he first broke onto the scene. The Italian league plays at a slower pace than the Premier League but as Lewis Dunk mentioned in a recent interview, he hopes Ferguson can score a lot of goals and come back to the Premier League to continue that form.
Another youngster that dominated European headlines since moving from Gent to Lille in 2020 is Jonathan David. The Canadian international has been linked to every major league for a number of years and has scored 15+ goals since his second season. At 25-years-old, it was time for him to get his big move and after letting his contract run down he had the pick of the litter. His destination is Turin with the Old Lady. They have slightly slid down the ladder at the top of Italian football and finished fourth last season after sacking the highly sought after Thiago Motta in March.
There seemed to be some disgruntlement with the players, as well as upper management and with a host of draws (they finished the season with 16 draws and 18 wins) it seemed to be a disappointing season for them. They only lost four games in the league which would suggest they aren’t as far off returning to the top as some might suggest and they will be hoping that David’s clinical nature in front of goal can sway most of them draws into wins. Another player that Juventus are eager to get over the line is Randall Kolo Muani. The French striker struggled for form after his big money move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Paris Saint-Germain but got going again in Seire A. He registered 8 goals in 16 games during his spell and offers availability in various positions. The deal isn’t concrete yet as Tottenham have registered interest once again after he rejected them in January, but a return to the black and white is top of his priorities.
With the David deal already sealed and Kolo Muani likely to resign on a more permanent basis, it may be time for Dusan Vlahovic to move on. The Serbian became a household name after two red hot seasons for Fiorentina and made the move to Juventus for the 2020/21 season when they secured their ninth league title in a row. Since then, Inter and Napoli have exchanged two titles each and AC Milan have nabbed one of their own. He has stayed a consistent goal scorer but not what Juve were expecting, only breaking 10 goals once and not yet reaching 20 league goals. He offers a lot for other clubs. A clinical finisher when on form. Big, powerful and can act as the main man for a host of clubs around Europe. There is rumoured to be a gentleman’s agreement with the top brass and with only a year left on his contract the Premier League may be his next challenge. Apparently AC Milan are in the hunt, with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur also sniffing around. No official bid yet but expect Vlahovic to be the leading man for another club, whether in Italy or abroad, in the very near future.
To round us out, I’m going to take a look at, arguably, the two best strikers on this list. Victor Osimhen and Jhon Duran. Firstly, Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian superstar guided Napoli to their first Seire A title in 33 years in 2023, followed by a disappointing season in 2024. At the conclusion of that season it seemed that Osimhen decided, after a few disagreements with the owner, that his time in Naples was up and he would move on to pastures anew. Manchester United were heavily linked, as well as Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. He was considered one of the most feared strikers in the world and could have had a choice of clubs. In the end, he didn’t want Saudi and Galatasaray were happy to answer his call to stay in Europe. After a loan spell that ended in a Turkish league title it seemed that now he would go to a top five league and show us again what he has to offer.
In a baffling saga, he has returned to Istanbul, only this time it’s on a permanent basis. There is no doubt that Manchester United could use someone of his quality and should have been focused solely on bringing him to the Theatre of Dreams. Other Italian sides like AC Milan or Juventus (before getting David) could have tried their best to convince him to stay in The Boot. To me, anyone with the funds available should have done their best to get him rather than let him spend his prime in a league where he could have been successful in another five years’ time.
Jhon Duran also swapped his choice of clubs around Europe for Turkey. He has signed for Fernabache on an initial loan deal after only spending six months at Al Nassr, playing with his hero and idol Cristiano Ronaldo. Rumours have spread that personal issues related to Saudi Arabia’s strict laws, reported issues with his mental state and form (he scored 12 goals in 18 games), and a desire to return to European football were all factors that added up with his desire to leave. Duran is as exciting a striker prospect we have seen in a while.
Although many players on this list can offer more in terms of flexibility to fit into a system. They could drop deeper or play out wide, however, Duran is a pure, out and out number 9. His time at Villa was dominated by outstanding goals from substitute appearances, which played into his desire to leave the West Midlands. €77 million was hard to turn down for Villa, especially with PSR issues creeping up and I’m sure Duran was paid handsomely for his time in Riyadh.
As many people have said online he has already played, and is about to play, in leagues that many players move to towards the tail end of their career – MLS, Saudi and now Turkey. He has already proved that he can play at the very top level, scoring goals in the Champions League, as well as the English top flight. If he has a desire to stay in Europe I can imagine his stay in Turkey will just last a sole season with every and any top club chomping at the bit to secure his signature come this time next year.
As is it every summer, every club will be looking for someone who can do the hardest thing in the game, score goals. Consistently. With so many top players listed above, there is bound to be more movement before the end of the window, as well as January. As the dominoes fall, it opens more doors for interesting player and club matrimonies and we’ll be looking forward to seeing who will lead the line for the top clubs, who will save their side from relegation, who will get their big money move and who’s next to join this list.