There are clear reasons to be optimistic about this striker. His aerial presence, finishing rates and genuine pace stand out, even if the rest of his game still needs trimming. To be fair, he looks like the sort of youngster who can improve in the right environment.

The positives

Start with the obvious. He wins over 52% of aerial duels, which is rare for a young centre forward and puts him ahead of a couple of the league’s top scorers. His shot conversion and shot accuracy are both encouraging — he hits the target more often and converts at a better rate than Maswahise and Shankland, according to the numbers supplied. He also posts a higher goals-per-90 than Shankland and sits similar to Maswahise. Add genuine speed — cited at around 35 km/h — and the ability to run channels, and you’ve got an attack profile that is hard to coach out of a team.

Where he needs work

It isn’t perfect. He loses possession more per 90 than the other two, and his passing completion rate is lower. While he’s missed fewer big chances in total, the rate per 90 is higher — in part because he’s played roughly 800 minutes fewer, so small sample sizes magnify issues. Isolation in his previous system didn’t help either; a lot of his weaknesses look like they stem from lack of service and not being part of a cohesive attacking shape.

Why I’d give him next season

Pairing him with someone like Naderi should reduce the isolation problem and give him better service to show his strengths. As Rohl said, he looks inconsistent rather than devoid of talent — exactly the kind of player we’ve targeted to buy, develop and hopefully sell on. I’d like to see a full season with structured coaching and a system that asks him to link play more and make the most of his aerial and running qualities. If he improves his decision-making and ball retention, he could be a very useful asset.

Written by Angus1812: 17 February 2026

Tags: tactics