Get it to the big man and let him dominate

I spotted an interesting micro-trend looking around at the transfer rumours today: Three about extremely big strikers. And I’m not just talking about decently big boys. I mean guys who are listed as being at least 197cm (6’6”) tall. The really big lads. So let’s talk about some large humans and what they can do with a football.

Nick Woltemade — Rumoured Stuttgart to Bayern Munich

We already highlighted Woltemade last week, ahead of his appearance in the Euro U-21 final. My position remains that he is very high risk at the rumoured €60m price point. But fresh reporting has emerged that Bayern Munich is in active negotiations with Stuttgart, and they think they can get a reasonable price.

Florian Plettenberg quoted Bayern director Max Eberl as saying the two clubs have a great relationship, and Fabrizio Romano says he’s rejected approaches from Premier League clubs because he only wants Bayern.

While I’m not sold on the risk-reward proposition on the fee, this does look like a lovely Harry Kane backup/understudy.

Tolu Arokodare — Rumoured Genk to Fulham

This aggregated rumour came from the paper that starts with S and rhymes with fun, so do with that information what you will, but Fulham should absolutely be trying to sign Tolu Arokodare. Hell, I think about 15 Premier League clubs should.

I think my favorite thing about Arokodare is how much growth he still has to do with his aerial game. Unlike Woltemade and the guys below, Arokodare isn’t exactly a polished header of the ball yet. Instead, he’s scoring 21 goals mostly from through balls and passes into feet. If he becomes even average at heading, he’ll be one of the most lethal strikers in the world.

Lorenzo Lucca — Rumoured Udinese to Napoli

The least well-rounded striker of these three, but the tallest and most skilled header of the bunch. Nico Schira reports that Napoli and Udinese are in active negotiations and that Lucca has agreed to personal terms, but the clubs are still €10m apart on the fee.

You may be looking at this radar and shot chart and thinking that this is not a €35m player. I think that is a reasonable conclusion to draw. But I also think that Udinese was a poor attacking team last season, and Lucca is a really unique aerial talent. He’d continue to overperform his xG on any team that gave him good service. I’d love him on Napoli.

The Biggest Lad — Tobias Lauritsen

Given that he is now 27 and lacking in other skills, I do not see a big club coming in for Sparta Rotterdam striker Tobias Lauritsen. But I wanted to show him to you since he is arguably The Biggest Lad, having won 7.99 aerials per 90 this season. This is a real man’s shot chart.

The Best Big Lad — Alexander Sørloth

While searching for big strikers in Europe that won a lot of aerials, Sørloth came out as the clear best striker who makes the first page when sorting by aerials won. He had an outstanding debut season for Atlético Madrid and I would like someone to explain to me how Crystal Palace managed to get nothing out of this guy.

More transfer rumours

• Arsenal are reportedly interested in Eberechi Eze, who has been most strongly linked to Spurs in the recent past. I think the Gunners can do better for the money.

• Noni Madueke would be much better value for money, and it’s bizarre that Chelsea want to sell him so badly.

• We have done a lot of dunking on Man United on this newsletter, but here are a couple of rumours I like a lot for them. They’re interested in Ollie Watkins and Fabian Ruiz, who I think fit big positional needs and would improve the team a lot.

• Malik Tillman looks likely to make a move from PSV to Bayer Leverkusen for €40m when he wraps up Gold Cup play with the United States.

• Jhon Duran is going on loan to Fenerbahce with no option to buy. OK!

• Brentford are signing Antoni Milambo from Feyenoord for £17m plus incentives. His shooting and playmaking stats don’t look impressive for a 10, but his ball retention and defensive stats do. I wonder if they envision moving him to a deeper role.

• Add Luis Diaz to the pile of left wingers that Bayern Munich are reportedly looking into. I think he’d be a good fit there, and that Liverpool should sell if someone’s willing to pay £50m+.

—KM

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