The summer of 2022 is likely to see a footballing arms race for goalscorers
and, clearly, two names dominate that list. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland
are the two most sort-after players in the world and everyone knows why.
But what of the players beneath? It’s not quite Sensible Transfer season at Tifo, but we’re taking
a provisional look at where the goals are and what the coming generation of forwards looks like.
Some ground rules to begin with: we’re only including players aged 24 or younger
and we’re also excluding anyone who has moved clubs within the last 12 months.
So, no Tammy Abraham, no Paolo Dybala and no Victor Osimhen and, further up the food chain,
no Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang either.
But our list starts in Portugal, with Benfica’s Darwin Nunez.
As a Uruguayan forward with long hair, it’s too easy to compare him to Edinson Cavani
and yet there are similarities – not least in the quality of his penalty
box movement and anticipation, both of which inform his goalscoring record.
But there’s more to him. Nunez is extremely quick, which makes him a threat in the
channels and beyond the back-shoulder, and he’s a very dynamic dribbler,
which allows him to beat defenders one-on-one and create shooting opportunities for himself.
He’s also smart. It would be wrong to describe him as a facilitator, but he does
have some False 9 characteristics. When he receives the ball in the penalty box, his
instinct isn’t always to shoot; he spots players in better positions and can operate as a pivot,
and he’s also – unusually – a good crosser, too. He’s a goalscorer, certainly, but also
a creator of chances who should improve the performance of most attacking units.
Next up: Gianluca Scamacca.
With Dusan Vlahovic off the market, Sassuolo’s Scamacca is probably the
most interesting young forward in Italy. Again, he’s a player of breadth. He’s 6ft5
and presents an obvious physical challenge, but he’s not purely a power-based player:
the touch-and-volley he scored against Napoli in December 2021 was illustrative of his technique,
as well as his periodic ability to score unique and eye-catching goals, and to play with craft.
Unusually for a bigger forward, he also frequently shoots from distance – and well:
his stunning curler against AC Milan was a fine example of that.
Roberto Mancini is a big fan.
“Scamacca has everything it takes to become a complete centre-forward,”
he told La Gazzetta dello Sport shortly after that Napoli goal and it’s hard to disagree.
Scamacca has skill and dynamism to go with his size – his deft touches can
be a startling contrast to the force in his game – and if he isn’t prolific yet,
it’s easy to imagine him becoming so if his high shot-volume and finishing range
was incorporated within a higher-powered side.
Staying in Italy, Rafael Leao might have been on our list, but he’s currently more of an inside
forward than a no.9. In Germany, Christopher Nkunku has had an even better year and has
often been used in the RB Leipzig forward line, but he’s still in the attacking-midfielder or
No.10 category for now. So is PSV’s Cody Gakpo. He’s been a standout performer in the Eredivisie,
but we prefer him in a wider, or more withdrawn role, and so he’s not really what we’re looking
for. Nor is Charles De Ketelaere; we’re not quite sure what his long-term position is going to be.
Back in Portugal, Evanilson is better defined.
Porto have run away with the title this season, and that’s partly because of the
now departed Luis Diaz, the form of Mehdi Taremi, but also the goals of the 22 year-old Brazilian.
There’s a Diego Costa-like quality to Evanilson. He’s thick-set and
incredibly difficult to knock-off the ball – he’s very good at shielding it,
too – but like the other players on this list, those aesthetics mask subtlety and skill
which contribute to the creation of goals and the development of attacking moves.
He’s got a nice range of flicks and through-balls and plays with his head up.
Evanilson isn’t a sure thing and there should be weariness around any player who produces a
sudden surge of form, particularly in a league outside the traditional top-five.
Nevertheless, his package of abilities makes him intriguing and
theoretically equips him to succeed in most leagues.
Back in Italy, Lautaro Martinez is already succeeding in a top-tier league;
his combination with Romelu Lukaku helped make Inter Milan champions a year ago.
Lukaku has gone, but Martinez’s class remains. As do the goals. Some of them
have been of the highest standard – the drive into the top-corner at Anfield, for instance,
or the gorgeous chest, touch and finish versus Cagliari – while others, such as
a thumping header against Peru while playing for Argentina, or the stunning cushioned volley
against Sampdoria - have also reaffirmed him as a dependable converter of difficult chances.
And, while there have frequently been murmurs about his need for the right partner, he has
combined well with the new members of the changing cast at San Siro – with Edin Dzeko as Lukaku’s
replacement, with Denzel Dumfries on the right, and Federico DiMarco periodically on the left.
Martinez has always been comfortable dropping back into midfield and combining with supporting
players, too, and that makes him an ideal, goal-scoring component,
even if he isn’t quite a superstar.
Over in Germany, Sasa Kalajdzic has endured a difficult few years.
A pre-pandemic cruciate ligament injury cost him nearly an entire season
and, more recently, a shoulder injury side-lined him for the first half of 2021-22.
Stuttgart have also suffered through a torrid Bundesliga season, which has hardly helped either.
But Kalajdzic remains a big problem for defenders.
At nearly 6ft7, it’s reasonable and right to compare him to former English forward Peter
Crouch – in how good his first touch is, in how he’s able to use his body to “pin” defenders and
keep them from challenging for the ball, and in how clean his first-time contacts often are.
He’s also surprisingly deft and cold-blooded finisher.
One caveat is that he requires the right supply and that, at his best, he often
benefitted from – among others - Borna Sosa’s excellent delivery. But fully fit and on-form
he could still become the thoroughly modern and very effective targetman he promised to be.
And there are others for the radar, too.
Within Wolfsburg’s terrible season, Lukas Nmecha (npxG+xA: 0.67/90 (90th percentile) has shown some
accomplished all-round goalscoring. Jonathan David has also developed within a difficult season,
with Lille suffering a post-title hangover; David was averaging a goal every two games in the middle
of April, not including his performances for the Canadian national side, for which his
pace and direct style is an ideal fit and who wouldn’t be going to the World Cup without him.
Perhaps one of the most compelling players, however, is Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi,
who has improved dramatically during his two years in the German capital.
Awoniyi is one of the better pressing forwards in Germany and has the movement to be a significant
counter-attacking threat and the skill and finishing range to belong on this list.
And Southampton’s on-loan Chelsea forward Armando Broja is also intriguing. Still just 20,
the highlight of Broja’s season was arguably a run and low drive to score against Crystal Palace,
but – much like Scamacca, one of our main entries – he combines size, he’s 6ft3, with excellent
technique. Southampton’s season faded away in 2021-22, but Broja showed glimpses of considerable
talent which will pique the interest of plenty of clubs should his Chelsea pathway be blocked.