Could Genoa Hitman Krzysztof Piatek Solve Chelsea’s Goalscoring Issues?
No Eastern European striker has had such an immediate impact in Serie A as Krzysztof Piatek, well not since the days of Andriy Shevchenko.
No other player in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more than Piatek’s nine strikes in eight Italian top flight outings. The hitman also grabbed four goals in Genoa’s Coppa Italia fixture against Lecce.
His club form has been rewarded with a call up for the Polish national team and he managed to score his first international goal in his team’s Nations League game against Portugal.
Polish football writer Ryan Hubbard has said that Piatek’s form has come as a surprise:
‘When Piątek moved to Italy, no-one could have imagined the immediate impact he would have. Until last season his goalscoring record for Cracovia didn’t suggest anything other than him being a top-end Ekstraklasa striker, while even last season nine of his 21 goals came from the penalty spot.’
‘But his style has seemed to fit Genoa perfectly, while his attitude over the last couple of years have been fantastic. He’s a classic number nine – big, strong, and able to bully defenders – which has seemed to benefit him in Serie A so far. It is difficult to know whether he has hit his peak, or if he still has room to improve even more. Either way, he has proved a lot of people wrong so far. I wouldn’t want to bet against him continuing to do so.’
The twenty-three year old striker does seem to have all the attributes to be a very successful number nine.
He’s got a keen eye for goal, he takes accurate shots early, can finish with either foot and he’s also very accomplished in the air.
Piatek is playing with all the confidence in the world at the moment and that’s seen him being linked with a lot of Europe’s top clubs.
One of those being Premier League title contenders Chelsea.
The Blues have been playing some swashbuckling football since Maurizio Sarri took over as team boss in the summer.
One issue Chelsea have had this season is finding a consistent goalscorer playing up-top.
Alvaro Morata hasn’t been the signing The Blues were hoping for since his £60m arrival in 2017. He has struggled in front of goal and his confidence has been in constant decline.
Morata has scored more than Olivier Giroud this season, but the French World Cup winning forward is a better link-up man and he get’s more out of star man Eden Hazard.
When the chips are down and say Hazard gets injured, Sarri might believe that the goals will dry up if he has to rely on either Giroud or Morata.
Piatek’s form in Italy won’t have gone unnoticed at Stamford Bridge as Italian coach Sarri will have kept an eye on things in his homeland.
He’ll have noticed that Krzysztof is an explosive forward and that can be prolific in a top league. The Pole could become a lethal goalscorer if he has players like Hazard, Pedro, Willian and Jorginho providing him with constant ammunition.
Media talk suggests that Genoa are willing to listen to offers in the region of €60m for the twenty-three year old. Their chairman Enrico Preziosi has stated that any suitors will have to come to him and do business the right way:
“Those who want him will have to be serious and talk to me, anything else will be considered malpractice.”
Chelsea will no doubt look at the Genoa hitman over the next month or so and make a decision in regards his potential.
As Ryan Hubbard said, this form wasn’t expected when Piatek signed for the Rossoblu in the summer. Sarri and his scouts will need to ask themselves if this is a flash in the pan or if he can score the same amount of goals at a higher level?
If they think he can be a superstar striker then they should part with the cash and hand him to Maurizio Sarri!
Posted on October 26th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article
This No 9 shooter should be paid for his service come January. Chelsea strikers (Morata & Giroud) have failed copping up Sarrie style of play. Guess a combination of Hazard & Willian or Pedro will make the best attacking front three in Europe. Buy him! buy him!