Leeds United could be signing their own Erling Haaland as new striker target emerges
Leeds United remain in the market for a striker despite signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer, with their latest target ticking many similar boxes to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Due to Calvert-Lewin’s injury record and poor form over recent years, many of the Elland Road faithful were sceptical as to whether Daniel Farke would have enough firepower at his disposal to keep Leeds in the Premier League.
This appears to be something that the 49ers have also acknowledged, with recent reports suggesting that Leeds are interested in signing Stuttgart marksman Ermedin Demirovic.
With some elements of the Bosnian international’s game being comparable to Haaland, Leeds may have finally found their man to lead the line.
Demirovic similar to Haaland in many areas
Despite Joel Piroe being in good goalscoring form entering the new campaign, everyone associated with Leeds knows that the Dutchman does not have the required physical elements to play every game in the top flight.
According to FBref, the top two players who are comparable to Demirovic when taking multiple factors into account are Robert Lewandowski and Haaland – not bad names to be compared to.
Demirovic ranks in the 90th percentile for non-penalty goals per 90 with 0.64, whilst being in the 89th percentile for non-penalty expected goals when compared to players in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months.
The striker also ranks in the 84th percentile for non-penalty expected goals and assists, whilst boasting an impressive 6.25 touches in the opposition’s area per 90, ranking him in the 89th percentile for this stat.
Where Demirovic is similar to Haaland is his ability to create shots.
The Stuttgart striker averages 2.28 shot-creating actions per 90 compared to Haaland’s 2.34.
Like all elite strikers. Demirovic is not afraid to shoot, with the 27-year-old averaging 3.11 shots on target per game, with 1.31 of those shots being on target.
- In comparison, Haaland averaged 3.42 shots on target per 90, with 1.81 of those efforts being on target
Demirovic is a drastic upgrade on Calvert-Lewin
For all the talk of Calvert-Lewin’s Premier League experience, the striker has to score just 17 Premier League goals in his last four seasons combined.
Demirovic, on the other hand, is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga.
- Demirovic managed to score 15 goals last league campaign despite being limited to just 20 starts and 1861 total minutes
Despite both strikers having similar non-penalty expected goals, Demirovic boasts a far higher conversion rate.
Whilst Calvert-Lewin’s aerial ability would make him a solid option off the bench, there is really no comparison for who Farke should hang his hat on to lead the line if Leeds sign Demirovic.
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