Premier League clubs continue targeting tall, athletic strikers

Aston Villa signed Wesley, Newcastle signed Joelinton, and West Ham signed Haller. It seems that Premier League clubs are now targeting tall, athletic strikers.

There seems to be a new trend starting in the Premier League – at least among mid-to-lower table clubs. In the transfer market, a few of them have gone out and smashed their transfer records to sign centre-forwards. Not that that in itself is surprising, but all of them seem to have a similar physique, athleticism, and style of play, which perhaps highlights the need for such players in certain tactical styles.

It all started early in the summer, July 1st to be exact, when Aston Villa shelled out £22.5 million on Club Brugge’s Wesley Moraes, who was coming off the back of a 10 goal season in the Belgian Pro League. His numbers weren’t earth-shattering by any means, but his style of play and potential certainly caught Aston Villa’s eye.

At just 22, he stands at 6 foot 3 and has immense hold up play, while also having the agility and movement required to play in systems a bit more complex than a route-one.

This is one of the main similarities between the centre-forwards being signed. They all have the height to wreak havoc through the air and from set pieces, but unlike the traditional tall Premier League centre-forwards like Carroll and Crouch, they are extremely mobile and can contribute in the build-up regularly.

Sebastien Haller is another player of this mold, and West Ham broke their club record transfer fee to bring him in to fill their hole up front. Haller is of a higher quality than Wesley and Joelinton (who I will get to in a minute), and will likely prove to be a hit among the Hammers faithful. He is coming off the back of a successful season in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt, where he bagged 15 goals and added 9 assists in the Bundesliga.

The 15 goals stand out slightly, but the 9 assists are where you see Haller’s quality on the ball when linking up with his teammates, even at 6’3.

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Lastly, Newcastle also smashed their transfer record once again to bring in Hoffenheim’s Brazilian forward Joelinton, who scored a relatively unimpressive 7 goals in Germany last season, but won admirers through his strength paired up with his mobility and technical quality. At just 22, he has the ability to grow into a fantastic striker, and Newcastle certainly seem to think that he can cause their opposition issues from set-pieces as well as on the counter-attack.

So as you can see, there is a trend growing among Premier League clubs that is seeing them break their transfer records to sign athletic, mobile, and tall forwards that can contribute to their team in many different ways. You can expect to see them scoring goals and causing problems for the bigger sides especially this coming season, as the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle, and West Ham seek to impress.