20 Attackers Set for Major Transfers in the Summer
Here are 20 attacking footballers who could move to major teams in the 2015 summer transfer window. The footballer needs to have had an extended run as either a No. 9, 10 or 11 this season.
The 20 footballers will be ranked via a combination of two factors:
- Current playing ability: Is the footballer of a world-class or top-flight standard, a rising star or a squad player?
- Potential playing ability: How high is the footballer's upside?
Honourable Mentions
- Diego Rolan, 21, Bordeaux's Uruguayan right/centre-forward.
- Gerard Moreno, 22, Villarreal's Spanish centre-forward.
- Roland Alberg, 24, ADO Den Haag's Dutch central attacking midfielder.
- Wellington Silva, 22, Arsenal's Brazilian right attacking midfielder.
- Yannick Bolasie, 25, Crystal Palace's Congolese left-winger.
20. Tommy Oar (Utrecht)
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Utrecht's Australian left-forward Tommy Oar, 23, is a conventional wide player who can beat the opposing full-back and deliver an incisive cross.
He has created 57 scoring opportunities and accumulated seven assists in 17 Eredivisie games.
He is an easily coachable player, is looking to improve and has the talent to be on the squad of a team in one of Europe's major leagues.
19. Duvan Zapata (Napoli)
2 of 20
Napoli's Colombian centre-forward Duvan Zapata, 23, just needs one lengthy extended run as the starting No. 9 and he could become one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe.
He is explosive, strong, can score in limited minutes and looks like a potentially elite centre-forward.
Sure, he has only scored five goals in 14 Serie A games this season, but he has only started four times.
If Napoli don't give Zapata a fair chance, another team will.
18. Jonathan Schmid (Freiburg)
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Freiburg's French left-/right-winger Jonathan Schmid, 24, deserves more accolades.
He is an unsung hero; think a French version of James Milner: excellent provider, good work ethic and tracks back.
Schmid has more assists (six) than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (four).
17. Timo Werner (Stuttgart)
4 of 20
Stuttgart's German centre-forward/left attacking midfielder Timo Werner, 18, needs to overcome his first career hurdle.
He is constantly misplacing passes, losing the ball trying to make spectacular plays and is down on confidence.
This is why he has only scored three goals from 21 Bundesliga games.
Yet if Stuttgart suffer relegation, don't be surprised if a major team punts on his world-class talent.
16. Daniel Wass (Evian Thonon Gaillard)
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Evian Thonon Gaillard's Danish central/right attacking midfielder Daniel Wass, 25, has been predominantly a utility player throughout his career.
However, he has been afforded more steadiness only rotating from the right side to centrally.
A set-piece specialist and a proactive footballer, Wass would be a good squad addition to many top teams across Europe.
15. Davie Selke (Werder Bremen)
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Werder Bremen's German centre-forward Davie Selke is a lean and silky No. 9 whose raw potential could appeal to major teams.
Selke has the talent to rival the Werder Bremen legacies of Claudio Pizarro, Karl-Heinz Riedle and Miroslav Klose.
If not for Franco Di Santo's career season, Selke would have been granted more opportunities.
Selke has scored five goals and registered three assists from 20 Bundesliga games this season.
14. Felipe Anderson (Lazio)
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Lazio's Brazilian left/right-forward Felipe Anderson, 21, started his Serie A career as a bust.
Going goalless in 529 minutes over 13 Serie A games last season, he has since turned it around.
Anderson is electric, makes things happen and can be a scorer or provider.
He flashed elite skill in 2-2 draws against Inter Milan and Roma, games where he was instrumental in ensuring Lazio did not lose.
13. Jordan Veretout (Nantes)
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Nantes' French central attacking midfielder Jordan Veretout, 22, has interchanged from No. 10 to No. 8.
Sure, he is a solid central midfielder, but he could become a world-class central attacking midfielder given his creativity and propensity to split opposing defences with his incisive passes.
This season, he has scored six goals and registered five assists in 26 Ligue 1 games.
12. Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion)
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West Bromwich Albion's English centre-forward Saido Berahino, 21, is at times hard to work with, but when he is fully focused, he is a prospect with elite upside.
Berahino is a dangerous proposition for opposing teams.
He is the only West Bromwich Albion footballer in double-digits for goals in the Premier League this season (11).
11. Danny Ings (Burnley)
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Without English deep-lying forward Danny Ings, 22, Burnley manager Sean Dyche probably would have been sacked by now.
Ings' nine goals and four assists have been crucial to Dyche staying afloat as he attempts to navigate out of the relegation zone.
A player who's technically proficient, a scorer and has the ability to play-in teammates, Ings is a quality footballer who has the ability to play for a bigger club.
10. Jackson Martinez (Porto)
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Porto's Colombian centre-forward Jackson Martinez, 28, has proven himself to be one of the best footballers outside of the Bundesliga, Eredivisie, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A.
Martinez is a scorer and is able to conjure up moments of brilliance.
He has scored 17 goals in 23 Primeira Liga games.
If Martinez was five years younger, it would be less risky to sign him for a big transfer fee.
The concern potential suitors could have is he might be another Mario Jardel, a player who exhausted the prime years of his footballing life in Portugal.
9. Mark Uth (Heerenveen)
12 of 20Heerenveen's German centre-forward Mark Uth, 23, would in theory be an excellent foil for Koln No. 9 Anthony Ujah.
Leading the line, Ujah would hold up the ball and provide brute strength, while Uth would finish off scoring opportunities and create scoring chances.
Once seen as a potential successor to Lukas Podolski at Koln, Uth never made the grade.
After a series of setbacks and character-testing times, Uth has developed into one of the best centre-forwards in the Eredivisie, scoring 13 goals and registering seven assists.
8. Paul-Georges Ntep (Rennes)
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Rennes' French left-winger Paul-Georges Ntep, 22, is carrying his club.
Ola Toivonen scores about once every third game (six goals in 20 Ligue 1 games), Habib Habibou does not look like top-flight quality and Philipp Hosiner is a squad player.
From the left flank, Ntep leads Rennes in Ligue 1 goals (eight).
7. Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim)
14 of 20
Hoffenheim's Brazilian central attacking midfielder Roberto Firmino, 23, is one of the most complete footballers in the world.
Able to win back the ball, Firmino can take the ball past opposing players, score and create.
Considering how dire Hoffenheim's centre-forward stocks are, it wouldn't be out of the question to experiment and play Firmino as a No. 9.
6. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
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Inter Milan's Argentine centre-forward Mauro Icardi, 22, can shoot with either foot and is a proficient header of the ball.
Icardi is a poacher who is the second top scorer (14 goals) in the Serie A, behind Carlos Tevez (15 goals).
Yes, Icardi is generally always in score-mode, but he needs to look up and play-in open teammates because he prefers taking the low-risk shot than making a high-percentage pass.
5. Franco Vazquez (Palermo)
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Palermo's Argentine deep-lying forward Franco Vazquez, 26, looks like a better footballer than teammate Paulo Dybala.
That is a subjective view since they are similar from a statistical perspective.
| Serie A 2014-15 | Franco Vazquez | Paulo Dybala |
| Goals/Games | 7/24 | 12/24 |
| Shots Per Goal | 9.3 | 7.3 |
| Shooting Accuracy % | 33.8 | 36.8 |
| Assists | 9 | 7 |
| Key Passes Per Game | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Passes Per Game | 43 | 31.2 |
| Pass Success % | 78.8 | 82.6 |
| Dribbles Per Game | 3.5 | 2.7 |
| Dribble Success % | 52.9 | 58 |
Also, the primary difference is Dybala is five years younger and is expected to continue his Gareth Bale-esque rise from flop to superstar.
Vazquez is the architect, the brains and the conductor behind the majority of Palermo's attacks.
With so much attention focused on Dybala, you presume there is one major team that will invest heavily in Vazquez, who is a genius.
Though, if Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini does sell Dybala, it seems unlikely Vazquez will go too.
Not only will it blunt Palermo's forward play, it will make life even more difficult for Andrea Belotti, who is expected to succeed Dybala.
At least in a post-Dybala Palermo, Vazquez is still running the show and maybe Belotti can experience a surge in performance.
4. Anwar El Ghazi (Ajax)
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Ajax's Dutch right-forward Anwar El Ghazi, 19, has shifted between a starter and a super sub.
At 6'2" and 168 pounds, El Ghazi is physically gifted and his technique is outstanding.
The combination of power and finesse is why he can easily separate himself from opposing defenders to shoot or to play-in a teammate.
El Ghazi has scored eight times and accumulated seven assists in 22 Eredivisie games this season.
His productivity would be higher if he started more games since he only starts 68.2 percent of games he is involved in.
3. Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven)
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PSV Eindhoven's Dutch left-forward Memphis Depay, 21, is the Eredivisie's answer to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Depay is so desperate to get on the scoresheet; you regularly see him zipping past defenders, generating space and unleashing shots from all angles.
He has taken more shots from outside the box (58) than in the penalty area (46).
Scoring 15 goals and registering three assists in 21 Eredivisie games, there are no doubts over Depay's ability, but there are over whether he can reproduce this dominance in an elite European league.
2. Paulo Dybala (Palermo)
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Palermo's Argentine deep-lying forward Paulo Dybala, 21, has covered up two below-par seasons with a career-best campaign thus far.
Dybala has scored 12 goals and registered seven assists in 24 Serie A games this season.
His partnership with Franco Vazquez has been crucial to Palermo's attack.
If Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini follows through on his intentions to sell Dybala in the summer transfer window, then it is going to be a tough assignment for Andrea Belotti to be the successor.
1. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon)
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Lyon's French centre-forward Alexandre Lacazette, 23, is a world-class footballer.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (30 goals) and Lionel Messi (27 goals) have scored more league goals than Lacazette (21 goals) in terms of footballers from the Bundesliga, Eredivisie, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A.
Lacazette is arguably the best No. 9 in Europe this season, having outscored Diego Costa (17 goals) and Sergio Aguero (17 goals).
If Lyon sell Lacazette, their projected starting strike partnership of Nabil Fekir and Clinton N'Jie could still be prolific.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.
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