Player Focus: Today's Premier League Transfer Rumours Analysed
On Tuesday, Southampton confirmed the signing of young Spain international Juanmi, who had a £5.1m release clause in his contract. Malaga were understandably keen to hold onto last season’s top goalscorer, but there was little they could do to prevent the 22-year-old from departing for the south coast club. 8 goals was a decent return for the young striker, who was tipped for big things in his homeland.
Saints, though, were keen to wrap up the deal as soon as possible. Part of the reason they tailed off in the second half of last season was due to the lack of cover for Graziano Pellè. The Italian was clearly fatigued as the campaign wore one, meaning the goals dried up, hindering Ronald Koeman’s side. In Juanmi, though, Pellè not only has a decent stand in, but also some competition for a starting berth.
A conversion rate of 21.6% was a notable return for the young striker in La Liga last season, while his versatility attracted the interest of Saints. The Malaga attacker is capable of playing on either wing and behind the striker and could prove to be the perfect foil for Pellè, should Koeman pair the duo in attack. At his age, Juanmi has room to improve and given Koeman’s history with bettering young players, a move to St. Mary’s suits both club and player.
Last season was an impressive breakthrough campaign for Joseph Gomez, who gained a WhoScored rating of 6.82 from 21 Championship appearances. The teenage defender is highly thought of at the Valley and his performances last campaign have allegedly attracted interest from Liverpool, among others. The Reds are keen to bolster their defence on the back of Glen Johnson’s departure and Sebastian Coates’ expected exit.
Gomez is likely to be earmarked as one for the future, with reports suggesting the 18-year-old would be loaned back to the Addicks to gain further first team experience. Nevertheless, the Reds would secure the services of a defender who has shown plenty of promise during his outings for Charlton. An average of 1.4 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game is a respectable return for the young defender, who could be viewed as Johnson’s long-term replacement at right-back.
However, Gomez’s versatility saw him play centre-back and left-back for Charlton last season, so Rodgers would have the option to utilise the defender all across the backline, an ideal situation if he does revert to a three-man defence in the future. 3 clearances and 2.1 aerial duels won per game denotes a notable reading of the game and the hope is Gomez will realise his early potential, which Liverpool are supposedly keen to tap into.
The 6’3” Spaniard secured a move to Stoke pending a medical on Tuesday. Joselu enjoyed a noteworthy campaign for lowly Hannover 96, netting 8 goals and providing a further 3 assists, which has seemingly convinced Stoke that the striker has what it takes to succeed at the Britannia Stadium.
While Mark Hughes has looked to move away from the long ball approach that became synonymous with the club during Tony Pulis’ tenure, Stoke still sporadically adopt this gameplan, highlighted in that only four players won more aerial duels per game in the Premier League last term than striker Peter Crouch (4.6). Joselu is a frontman famed for his aerial ability, which Hughes has identified and is hopeful of exploiting in England’s top tier next term.
Only Stefan Kießling (250) won more aerial duels in the Bundesliga last season than Joselu (206), reinforcing the Spaniard’s statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘aerial duels’. As a focal point to the attack, the 25-year-old could prove to be quite the astute signing for the Potters, provided he can quickly adjust to the rigours of English football.
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