Kryzsztof Piatek to Tottenham? What AC Milan striker could offer Jose Mourinho's men
With Harry Kane out injured until April, the Poland international has emerged as a possible £28m signing for the north London club
With talismanic frontman Harry Kane ruled out until April with a hamstring injury, AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek has been linked with a £28m move to Tottenham.
Piatek burst onto the scene with Genoa at the start of last season, scoring 13 goals in his first 19 games. That form earned him a £30m move to AC Milan last January, where he continued his goalscoring exploits over the remainder of 2018-19 with nine goals from 18.
This season has been less prolific for the Poland international, however, with a comparatively meagre return of four goals - three of which were penalties - from 18 games being all he has managed. Moreover, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return to the San Siro has pushed him down the pecking order and Milan are apparently ready to move him on.
What sort of player is Piatek?
Standing at 6ft, Piatek is an old school centre-forward whose goals come from deft positioning and clinical finishing rather than lightning pace or runs in behind. In that sense, his opportunism is perhaps his greatest asset and his playing style is reminiscent of perma-scoring Kane.
Indeed, he named Kane - alongside compatriot Robert Lewandowski - as one of his footballing role models in
an interview in October 2018.
This season, under Stefano Pioli, Milan have struggled to establish a clear tactical identity, much unlike the patient, width-oriented style which was
clear for all to see under Gennaro Gattuso during 2018-19. As such, confidence is low; Piatek’s teammates have so far failed to provide chances of the same or even similar quality and frequency, and the 24-year-old snatches at those which do come his way. The lack of confidence and effective support mean it would be a mistake to discount him as a one-season wonder.
How could he fit in?
If signed, Piatek would lead the line for Spurs in Kane’s absence and challenge him for the No 9 spot when he returns from injury. Although Kane’s 17 goals in 25 games this season offer a far superior goals-to-game ratio (0.68) than Piatek’s four in 18 (0.22), they are astoundingly similar players.
This season, where Kane has forced 2.70 possession turnovers per 90 minutes, Piatek has forced 2.77. Where Kane has 2.29 aerial wins per 90, Piatek has 2.13. And where Kane has an expected goals score of 0.25 per 90, Piatek has one of 0.29.
Therefore, in terms of physicality, off-the-ball play and positioning, he exceeds Kane’s statistics more often than he falls short of them. The fact that he takes 0.73 more shots and 2.04 more touches in the box per 90 than Tottenham’s captain makes his superior expected goals score (xG) all the more impressive, as this means he takes a greater number of shots from positions of greater quality.
One way in which Piatek differs significantly from Kane, however, is pressures and pressure regains, two metrics which respectively measure how many times a player presses an opposition defender closely and how many times that pressure results in a possession turnover. In these terms, the Pole’s 24.09 pressures and 3.62 pressure regains per 90 exceed Kane’s scores of 16.32 and 2.19 by a large margin.
These metrics are testament to his ability to lead a frontline with fervour and tenacity, just as Kane did so brilliantly during his breakout season with Spurs, and mean he would be a useful weapon to add to Spurs’ counter-attacking arsenal and a reliable like-for-like replacement in Kane's absence.
iverdict
It would be a mistake to see Piatek’s current form as indicative of his overall ability and it would be equally unwise to bet against a manager of Jose Mourinho’s calibre rectifying that form in a team which features the likes of Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura in supporting attacking roles and a league in which physicality plays a central role.
If the £28m pricetag quoted in
The Sun is correct, Milan would be making a £2m loss on a player they signed a year ago. To sign a player as similar as Kane, albeit one who is also more relentless in the press, for such a fee seems a great deal on the surface, and one which comes straight out of the Daniel Levy playbook of hard bargains.
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