5 of the worst strikers in La Liga this season

#3 Luis Muriel

Luis Muriel has found it difficult to justify his price-tag

Sevilla paid €21.5 million to sign Luis Muriel from Sampdoria last summer but have so far not received the return on investment they were expecting from the Colombian.

In truth, for all of his potent physical attributes and incisiveness, Muriel has never been a particularly prolific goalscorer. Part of Sevilla’s bet on him was that they’d be able to polish his rough edges and turn a striker who had previously netted every two-and-half to three matches into one capable of scoring at least every other match.

That has not been the case so far. Muriel has scored just three goals in nine starts and five substitute appearances in La Liga and has shown himself to be fairly erratic in front of goal. For the fee paid, it is a disappointing return.

Indeed, one of the first things new coach Vincenzo Montella highlighted after taking over earlier this month was the need to sharpen up Muriel’s game inside the penalty area.