Every team that expects to challenge for top honors must boast of a lethal striker who is capable of banging in the goals on a regular basis and grabbing crucial points for the team by rescuing them from precarious positions.
Most of the tactics developed during training sessions and in meetings revolve around the man up front and what is arguably the most efficient way to get the ball to his feet.
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However, these days, 30-goals-a-season strikers are an increasingly rare breed, with their services available to only the richest clubs on the planet. Clubs are increasingly having to make do with less-proven marksmen in the hope that they fulfil their potential and develop into the deadly striker that they so desperately require.
Also read: Top 5 underrated strikers in the EPL right now
Of course, many times, these acquisitions don’t live up to the mark and are sold. However, they do manage to jump ship due to a lingering reputation that they are indeed capable of scoring goals.
Here, we take a look at five such strikers who we feel are overrated.
#5 Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli is a fan-favorite wherever he goes, beloved for his humour, cheek and antics, however, it should speak volumes that he’s known for what he does off the pitch rather than what he does on it.
A footballer of tremendous talent, Balotelli broke on to the scene as a 17-year-old with Inter Milan, garnering praise for his mature and composed performances leading the line. But his inner demons followed him wherever he went as he often fell out with managers and was deemed a toxic presence in the dressing room and on the bench.
His performance in the semi-finals of the 2012 European Championships against Germany made it seem like he’d finally turned over a new leaf and that he’d genuinely begin to utilise his potential, but once the tournament ended, it was the same old Balotelli once again.
His raw ability has seen the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, AC Milan all take a punt on him in the hope that he delivers, but he just doesn’t seem to care enough to put in any effort. During the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, 36 league appearances for the Reds and Milan saw him score a grand total of two goals and his stock plummet to an all-time low.
Liverpool let him leave on a free this summer, and with most teams tired of his behaviour, he had to take a step down, reconsider his choices and his ego, and move to the French league with Nice.
However, he seems to have carved a niche for himself in the team, putting in a shift and already doing much better than in the previous seasons. His nine goals in 14 league appearances have seen Nice climb to 3rd and in with a genuine shot at the title.
#4 Stephan El Shaarawy
El Shaarawy commanded a €20 million fee when he moved to Milan from Genoa and was seen as a top prospect that could guide the team to the summit of Serie A once again. Only 19 when he joined the club, his first season was muted, as he contributed just four goals in 28 league appearances.
He caught fire in his second season, and was widely applauded for his performances in front of goal, scoring an impressive 19 goals in 46 appearances for the club. It also saw him be called up to the Italian national team and score his first ever goal for the Azzurri.
But injuries would hit, and hit hard. His 3rd and 4th season for Milan saw him make only 28 more appearances and score only four more goals, never properly recovering from his long spells out.
His potential saw the likes of Monaco and Roma both take chances on him with mixed amounts of success. His season at Monaco was a dud as he failed to score in 15 league appearances and managed only three goals during the course of half a season before having his loan terminated. He would then move to Roma for the second half of the season, and some improved performances saw the Italian club buy him outright for €13 million, quite the depreciation from his initial fee.
While he seems to have found his feet in the capital once again, he should arguably be doing much better for someone of his ability.
#3 Christian Benteke
The big Belgian is a wonderfully gifted technician, capable of scoring some truly incredible goals; just look at his bicycle kick goal against Manchester United in September 2015. The striker is much more than just the target man he is made out to be, constantly working hard and bringing the whole team into the game with his hold-up play.
Despite all these positives, we still feel that he’s a tad bit overrated in Premier League circles. Joining Aston Villa as a relatively unknown quantity from Genk, his explosive play caught most teams by surprise, as he banged in 23 goals in his first season with Aston Villa, with his goals single-handedly dragging the Villans away from the relegation scrap.
However, once teams figured him out, he had a much harder time of it, with his production reducing to just 11 goals in his second season, partly due to the devastating Achilles tendon injury he suffered in April 2014.
His 3rd and final season for the club saw him score at a rate of one goal in every two games and command a massive £32 million fee upon his eventual move to Liverpool, but once again, at the very top level, he was found out. He constantly slowed down the play and failed to convert chances as Liverpool finished a lowly 8th in the league with Benteke managing a meagre 10 goals in 42 appearances.
The Reds somehow managed to recoup the entire fee, selling him to Palace this season for £32 million. He’s now the main man of the team, but is still quite underwhelming for someone who commanded such a high fee.
#2 Hulk
Hulk signed for Portuguese champions, Porto, from Japanese club Tokyo Verdy, as a 22-year-old and was expected to fill in for the club when required. After two mediocre seasons where the Brazilian scored 19 goals in 75 appearances, he truly came to the fore, scoring 58 goals in the next 95 appearances and winning an unprecedented treble with the club.
After being mooted with potential moves to some of the world’s biggest clubs, Hulk decided to follow the money and ended up joining Zenit St Petersburg for €40 million. With the entire team built around the forward, he still only managed to score 11 goals in his first season and was found lacking in most departments.
While capable of the odd spectacular goal, his time in Russia saw him constantly underperform in an inferior league.
Though he’s managed to get capped for the national team 47 times, his scoring record is again poor; managing only 11 goals. He still managed to command a €55 million fee upon his move to Chinese Super League side, Shanghai SIPG, but after all the tremendous hype that was built around the forward during his time at Porto, his career seems to have only gone downhill since then.
#1 Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea bought Belgian striker, Batshuayi, for a hefty sum of €40 million and he was expected to be a capable backup striker; someone who can easily slot into the team and score goals when it’s asked of him.
It could also arguably be said that he was brought in as a fail-safe option, after Diego Costa had a less than exemplary 2015/16 season scoring only 16 goals in 41 appearances in an injury-ravaged year.
Batshuayi, still only 23, had built quite the reputation for himself in the Belgian League with Standard Liege and in the French League with Marseille, with the forward scoring an impressive 23 goals across all competitions last season. Many pipped him to be the next Didier Drogba for Chelsea, with his frame and hold-up play reminiscent of the popular Ivorian.
However, the forward has found his first few months at Chelsea to be quite a disaster, with the physicality and intensity of the Premier League offering up an entirely new challenge. It could be argued that he’s been stuck behind Costa in the pecking order, but he’s not exactly taken all the chances he’s been given either.
In 16 league appearances for the Blues this season, he has managed to muster only a solitary goal. Tally up goals across all competitions and it’s still a meagre five in 21 appearances. For someone who commanded such a massive price tag, a lot more is definitely expected of him.
It’s still early days for him at Stamford Bridge, but with the January transfer window already throwing around rumours of a move away, he’ll have to do quite a bit between now and the summer to convince Conte that he deserves his spot in the squad.
