Premier LeagueThe heat of the strikers is likely to turn into a dangerous winter. English clubs spent big on some of Europe’s most exciting forwards ahead of the 2025-26 season, yet most have struggled to live up to the hype so far.
liverpool The signing broke the British transfer record alexander isaac From newcastle united For £125 million, which is almost equal to the combined fees paid by Manchester United For benjamin cesco And armory For Victor Gyokres After this, both of them were associated with going to England for several months.
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, When does the January transfer window open and close in the top leagues?
The trio entered the November international break with only six league goals between them, and few of their supporting cast shone. Liverpool also brought hugo akitike From eintracht frankfurt, chelsea brought in joao pedro From brighton and hove albion And nick voltmadeArrivals from Stuttgart helped Newcastle compensate for the loss of Isak and the turbulent summer.
In total, those six forwards could cost fees of around £471 million. The group made the biggest headlines by spending a record summer in the Premier League, Crosses £3bn in single window for first timeSo why not spend the initial months planning?
alexander isaac
Perhaps this situation was oversimplified. The inclusion of one of the best strikers in peak form in a team that will win the league title in 2024-26 has led many to believe that Liverpool are the clear favorites to repeat the feat this season. Eleven games have passed and Liverpool sit in eighth place, eight points behind leaders Arsenal, who would have made a concerted effort to sign Isak themselves had they believed he was available, before turning their attention elsewhere.
Only mohammed salah He recorded more goals and assists (47) in the league than Isak’s 29 last season, making Liverpool’s attraction clear. Isak is too talented to get the benefit of the doubt right now, at least given the mitigating factors. The fact that he would need time to adjust to the new league was offset by the lengthy nature of his transfer, with him training on his own for several weeks as Newcastle took a hard line on his departure. The 26-year-old only completed his move on deadline day, and then required a proper “preseason” before being ready to start playing games.
Liverpool will have to balance their obvious desire to add such an expensive player to the squad with the knowledge that his checkered injury history puts him at risk. Isak had already suffered a groin injury against Frankfurt last month. Sources have told ESPN that at least two other clubs interested in Isak this summer had doubts about Isak’s durability, especially at the fee being quoted, and it may be that the idea was to rotate Isak and Akitike to help Liverpool avoid injury concerns.
Isak has also not been helped by widespread instability at Liverpool and the struggles of other new signings, most obviously florian wertzManager Arne Slott is searching for his best XI, To date, Isak has played only 253 minutes in four matches in the league, his only shot on target coming in the home defeat against Manchester United last month when he was sent clean through,
Liverpool haven’t figured out how to play to their strengths yet. Isak will definitely get better, and Liverpool need him to fast.
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Is Cesco the right striker for Man United?
Gabe Marcotti assesses whether Benjamin Cesco should move to Manchester United amid links to a Premier League club.
benjamin cesco
Something surprised me after signing Brian Mbeumo And mattheus cunhaUnited deployed their limited funds towards centre-forwards when central midfield appeared to be such a clear area of need.
Arsenal extensively scouted Cesco and negotiated with his agent, but ultimately decided to pursue a more experienced and proven option in Gyökres. There was also interest from Newcastle as it became clear that Isak would work hard to get away, but Sesko still decided to join United. His two league goals against brentford And Sunderland – There were two close, opportunistic finishes and a total of seven shots on goal in 618 minutes in 11 appearances.
To some extent, the 22-year-old is a victim of a state of flux around United. Ruben Amorim’s side lacked creativity last season, and his completely new forward line will take time to acclimatise. Sources say Cesco has been working hard behind the scenes, willingly stepping up training sessions as United work out how to get the best out of him. slovenia International, described by Amorim as a “control freak”.
At the same press conference last week, Amorim had said, “He has more potential than I thought,” which strongly suggests that there were differing views internally on Cesco’s potential before signing him. Sources say United believe internal data shows Cesco has superior performance on the ball Rasmus Holzundwho was sent napoli on loan.
However, Cesco’s confidence is looking worryingly low at key moments. mickey van de ven One of the fastest centre-backs EnglandBut Sesko clearly lacked conviction when sent mason mount During the second half of United’s 2–2 draw Tottenham HotspurVan de Ven failed to get a clean shot as he recovered. He was seen leaving the stadium on crutches with a knee complaint and although United have downplayed the severity of the injury, any absence will likely delay the start of his career in England.
The timing is on Cessos’ favor right now, but the pressure will increase with Amorim’s attacking options reduced as Mbeumou and Amad Diallo depart. Africa Cup of Nations Next month.
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Arteta: Victor Gyöckeres ‘extraordinary’ for Arsenal in Burnley win
Mikel Arteta praised Victor Giorques’ performance during Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Burnley to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Victor Gyokres
Gyöckeres may seem hard to include here, as he has six goals in 14 matches – four of which have been in the league – and Arsenal top the table with a four-point lead over Manchester City. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has repeatedly praised Gyöckeres’ all-round contribution, and sources have told ESPN that there was a recognition when signing the 27-year-old that he would have to adapt his style to get the best from him. That adaptation process is still taking place, perhaps partly explaining why Arsenal’s position at the top of the table is based on defensive brilliance and set-piece skills rather than free-flowing, free-scoring football.
Gyöckeres’ four league goals have come from eight shots on target in 802 minutes in 10 matches. they came against the target leeds united, nottingham forest And burnley complemented by a uefa champions league prepare against Atletico MadridBoth finished at close-range, one of which was attributed to luck.
Gyöckeres still hasn’t silenced the doubters that he can tackle the biggest games in the same manner you would expect from someone who has scored 97 goals in 102 games. Sporting CPThe question was always whether that disastrous form would translate into the Premier League, There are signs that could be the case – his link-up play and ability to occupy the centre-backs have generally been good – but that lethal touch in front of goal has yet to materialise,
Upon signing he was seen as the final piece of the puzzle, the top-class, consistent goalscorer Arsenal had been craving for years. The way Arsenal are going right now, what he is doing may be enough, but at some point Gyöckeres will need to find the net more often to keep his team on track for the silverware they seek.
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Marcotti explains why the Premier League had a record transfer window
Gabe Marcotti looks at the reasons why Premier League clubs were able to cross the £3bn mark in transfer spending in the summer window.
How does his debut compare to the Premier League greats?
It’s admittedly too early to judge any player conclusively – especially someone new to the league – after three months, but that’s the fate that even the best forwards face.
Alan Shearer’s 260 Premier League goals remains as the division’s record. After transferring from Blackburn Rovers in 1996 for a world-record fee of £15 million, he scored seven goals and recorded four assists in his first 10 games for Newcastle.
Wayne Rooney, third on the list with 208, made his first appearance for Manchester United in October 2004 and scored four goals in his first eight matches. Mohamed Salah, fourth on the list, has scored seven in his first 10 league games for Liverpool. Sergio Aguero (sixth) scored nine in his first 10 matches Manchester CityComparison does not seem appropriate considering other names harry kaneThe slow start to his career at Tottenham did not attract as much attention (he is number 2 on the list) while Frank Lampard scored a remarkable 177 goals from midfield.
Perhaps encouragement can be taken from Thierry Henry, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history – he managed just one goal in his first 10 games for Arsenal as his transformation from winger to centre-forward took shape.
just don’t look erling holland: From his first 12 starts in 2022, he scored 18 goals for Manchester City.
Holland sets the benchmark
Others have received promising returns. While Liverpool’s pursuit of Isak proved difficult, Akitike closed the gap by scoring two goals in his first three games. joao pedro He had the advantage of joining Chelsea in time to play in the FIFA Club World Cup, scoring three times in that tournament, including against Paris Saint Germain in the final, before adding two more goals in the first three matches of this season. However, eight games without a goal against Tottenham at the beginning of the month ended with the winner.
Voldemort has scored six goals in 14 games for Newcastle, appearing to have adapted to the division quicker than many anticipated and belying the fact that the club chased Akitike and Sesko before eventually settling on the 23-year-old. His impact has been further welcomed as Newcastle also spent £55 million to sign him yoanne wissa from Brentford, but the 29-year-old is yet to make his debut due to a knee injury he picked up just days after his move.
An honorable mention should go igor thiago At Brentford – no new signings this summer as he joins from here Club Brugge in July 2024 for £30million – but injuries limited him to just eight appearances. Thiago has scored eight goals in 11 games, a tally bettered only by Haaland, who should have had the last word after such a disastrous start to the campaign.
In 11 matches and 948 minutes in the league, Haaland has scored 14 goals. This record extends from 18 to 28 for City and Norway. In fact, in those 18 games, the only opponents who have prevented him from scoring are Tottenham Hotspur and Aston VillaHaaland’s form is an exceptional reason why City can challenge for the title once again this season, Others, at least for now, are all playing catch-up,
ESPN’s Rob Dawson and Beth Lindop contributed to this report
