Proven goal scorers never come cheap. It came as a surprise to many when Swansea City signed Bafetimbi Gomis for free this summer. He was all set to join Newcastle last August, but the deal fell through in the closing stages due to certain financial demands of the striker. With his contract set to expire at the end of last season, it was believed that Newcastle would sign him on a Bosman transfer. However, it was the Swans who leapt ahead in the race and signed the French forward. With record signing Wilfred Bony coming off a good season, the Swansea fans will be hoping the two strikers give them enough reasons to cheer come the end of the season.
The 29 year-old striker, also known as “Baby Boo Drogba”, has represented Saint-Etienne and Troyes apart from his previous employers Olympic Lyon. He was prolific at the Lyon club, scoring 91 goals in 239 games in domestic and continental competitions and also assisting 23 in the process. He has also donned the French colors on 12 occasions with 3 goals in his kitty for the Les Blues.
Over the last season, the player recorded a pass completion rate of close to 80%, which is a good rate for a striker. However, he did not make a great number of vital passes to his teammates averaging less than 1 key pass per 90 minutes. He recorded just a solitary assist, having created less than 1 chance per 90 minutes and Garry Monk will be hoping to see him hugely improve upon these numbers.
With more than 20 goals across all competitions in each of the last three seasons, Gomis has been fairly consistent at finding the back of the net. He has been lethal with his right foot, finding the back of the net on 21 occasions over the last two seasons with it. Though he has been hailed for his aerial abilities, only 4 of his goals in the last two seasons have come of it.
He averaged more than 3 shots per 90 minutes at an average shot accuracy of 50% which results in a very good number of shots on target per 90 minutes. However, unlike many other strikers, he doesn’t fancy himself from a distance as is evident in the fact that he recorded a far greater number of shots from inside the box than outside it per 90 minutes. For a burly striker with pace, he recorded a very poor take on completion rate of just over 40% of the take-ons he attempted.
Moving on to his defensive side, the player does not love to dive into tackles and has made less than 1 tackle per 90 minutes. If he plays as the lone man up front, that might not be such an issue, but should Swansea line up a two man attack, he might be required to up his defensive contributions. We have mentioned how despite being hailed for his headed efforts, he hasn’t been top notch in that segment and it is not surprising that he won less just about 30% of his aerial duels last season. He was tidier on the overall, having won a significantly higher percentage of duels on the ground.
Swansea will be hoping that the signing of Gomis will ease the pressure on the shoulders of their talismanic striker Wilfried Bony who scored 25 of their 68 goals in all competitions. The over-reliance on the striker is made evident in the fact that no other Swansea player managed to bag more than 7 goals in all competitions last season. The arrival of Gomis should ideally result in a higher number of goals for Swansea with Bony having a smaller share in it. While it remains to be seen how Swansea line up in the coming season, Gomis gives them a variety of options as he has played as a lone striker as well as in a strike partnership. Wilfried Bony attracts a number of defenders to himself with his pace as well as strength and this might result in a number of opportunities for the Frenchman in front of the goal.
The Premier League can prove to be a tougher prospect for the player as it is much more physical than the French League. Add to that the fact that the player has never ventured outside French football. While moving to Swansea might be an exciting opportunity, it will also be a test for Gomis to adapt to the English playing conditions. The risk associated with the transfer is lower due to the non-existence of a transfer fee, but it will not reduce the expectations of the fans from a proven name.
The Frenchman knows where the goal is and that’s his greatest strength. If he can find the back of the net at the same rate, his frailties in the other aspects of the game will be overlooked and he will be hoping to make an impact from the word go.
Stats via Squawka
