Our resident Head Scout, wee_od, continues his striker search and offers up two further candidates for consideration…
Our resident Head Scout, wee_od, continues his striker search and offers up two further candidates for consideration…
The next striker on my list is Hyun-Jun Suk, a 19-year-old South Korean striker who is currently on a one year deal at Ajax. Interesting story here… The story goes that this young lad went along one day to watch Ajax train, and after training he met the Ajax coach, Martin Jol (formerly of Tottenham) and asked him if he could train with them one day. Martin Jol accepted and, was so impressed, that he gave Suk a further trial and then offered the lad a one-year contract. That contract runs out next summer and whether or not he is likely to be offered a new deal is currently unknown.
Suk is a big young lad, standing at 1.90m/6ft 3in tall. He has a good turn of pace, plenty of skill and his obvious height gives him an advantage in the air. He is also a good finisher and isn’t afraid to take men on with his skill and pace. This does mean that he can be found coming deep for the ball or drifting out to wider positions, but I think some of that could be due to the service he is receiving. So far this season, he has only made a handful of appearances for Ajax, however, there is quite a bit of footage of him available – from what would appear to be Ajax reserve games.
Suk may not be ready for a starting place in our first team, or indeed Ajax’s, but he is showing so much potential that I had to put him in here, especially when you consider the progress that has been made by Ki this season! Suk – a player for the future perhaps? And, could our very own, Ki Sung-Yeung, be used as a lure to tempt him to us?
The final striker to mention is Victor Anichebe, a Nigerian born/English raised, product of the Everton Youth Academy. Anichebe has been in and around the Everton first team from a young age. Now 22 years of age, his current deal is set to expire next summer. A strong, 1.91m/6ft tall striker with good pace. Described as an ‘old fashioned centre forward’, he could give us that strong physical presence up front which we currently lack – we rarely harass opposition defenders with any strength and presence of our own. The problem with Anichebe (and lets face it, I wouldn’t be looking at him if there wasn’t one) is his injury plagued progress! Having said that, If his injuries are now behind him, could we offer him the perfect place for him to become the striker he has promised to be for so long?
Of all of these strikers I’ve mentioned, (see yesterday’s Scouting Report) perhaps surprisingly, my favourite is the Italian Grazziano Pelle. I just feel he has that bit more experience, the better physical presence in the box and, just in general, the type of player we have been missing for a while now!
It is certainly a surprise to me, because I am not usually a fan of Italian footballers and would normally steer clear of them.
I am quite impressed by young Suk, though, and I think taking him on board with a view to him being a sub and getting him ready for the first team within a year or two could be quite an exciting idea. As I said, after the way Ki has taken to Scottish football – and progressed this season – how many other up-and-coming players are out there who can do the same?
wee_od – Vital Celtic Head Scout
