Why Tottenham must beat Chelsea to sign Krzysztof Piatek in January
Krzysztof Piatek might not be the most familiar name on the lips of the football fans around the world but the 23-year-old Polish international has been making a name for himself in the Serie A with Genoa as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Italian football.
And his wonderful form in the Serie A has not eluded the eye of the elite clubs in Europe. According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Chelsea are among the English clubs to closely monitor the 23-year-old while Spanish giants Barcelona have also expressed their interest in the centre-forward.
Piatek started his professional career in the Polish league and rose to prominence with a fruitful spell at Cracovia where he scored 32 goals from 65 appearances across all competitions. As a result of his fine displays in front of the goal, Genoa bought him for £3.5million in the summer.
The 23-year-old has hit the ground running in the Serie A this season. Piatek, who was handed his international debut for Poland earlier this year, has scored goals at an alarming rate, having scored 13 across all competitions from only 8 appearances. The highlight of his remarkable performance this season came in the Coppa Italia when he scored 4 goals in his team’s 4-0 win over Lecce.
His stocks have soared sky high as a result of his prolific goalscoring form and Genoa rate him at £30million, which might be enough to keep the potential suitors at bay.
However, it is quite evident that Genoa do not have the financial muscle to compete with the Premier League clubs and based in the report from MEN, Piatek could be the subject of a four-way transfer tussle among the big guns of the Premier League if he continues his fine run of form.
Tottenham have made a solid start to their Premier League campaign and the Lilywhites currently sit 5th in the league table with 18 points from their first 8 games, just behind Arsenal on goal difference. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have a decent scoring record this season, having scored 15 goals so far.
However, it has been the same old story for Pochettino’s men in the final third and Harry Kane has had to shoulder the bulk of the workload up front. The English international has been directly involved in 6 out of the 15 goals scored so far and Spurs do not have a quality striker in their ranks to relieve the pressure off Kane’s shoulders.
Lucas Moura showed good form in the first few games but the Brazilian seems to have lost his golden touch in the last three games. Furthermore, he is a one-dimensional player who likes to dribble but he does not have the dynamism in his game to rack up solid performances on a consistent basis.
Spurs also have a benchwarmer in Fernando Llorente, who has lost most of his poaching instincts at the age of 33.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have had their fair share of problems up front. Alvaro Morata’s lacklustre performances have been masked to some extent by the brilliance of Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud. But the latter is already 32 and there’s no guarantee how long he’ll continue playing at the highest level.
Piatek is an out-and-out forward who can be the perfect man to answer Chelsea and Spurs’ woes as far as the No.9 spot is concerned. The 23-year-old is blessed with excellent technical abilities which allow him to receive the ball with minimal first touch error and run comfortably with the ball at his feet. He is very confident and backs himself to take on defenders in one-on-one situations.
The 23-year-old is a perfect centre-forward who is gifted with excellent instincts in the final third. He knows exactly how to position himself correctly to get on the end of passes and crosses and has a deadly eye for the goal.
He rarely seems to miss the target with his right foot and is equally adept at putting away the chances with his head. As a matter of fact, he is one of the few centre-forwards around who is equally good at finishing with his feet and head, and averages 5.3 shots and 2.1 aerial duels per game in the Serie A.
The Lilywhites have shown a lot of promise in the Premier League in the recent seasons and it is high time they mount a serious challenge for the league title. They will have to bolster their squad depth to a great extent if they are to challenge the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
That said, Tottenham should look to beat Chelsea for the signature of this talented 23-year-old Serie A sensation in January.