Crystal Palace are at serious risk of losing one of their star players during the upcoming summer window. But weirdly, the star player in question has played just 20 games for Palace in his career, scoring just one goal.
This player is Alexander Sorloth. The Norwegian is currently on loan with Trabzonspor and has scored 25 goals in 39 appearances for the Turkish side this season. Reports from Calcio Napoli 24 suggest that Napoli are interested in signing the forward. The report also indicated that Real Madrid are looking at the player as a potential replacement for Luka Jovic, who cost Los Blancos £54 million last summer.
With Sorloth clearly attracting attention from some of Europe’s elite, Palace should surely be on course to make a pretty penny from his sale though, right? Unfortunately, Palace could lose the player for €9 million (£8.29 million), with Trabzonspor having an option to complete his transfer for that fee at the end of the loan agreement.
But why exactly is Sorloth so saught after by teams like Napoli and Real Madrid?
TIF Tactics – What’s all the fuss with Alexander Sorloth?
Sorloth’s goalscoring record was addressed in the section above, but let’s break down some of his other in-game statistics.
In terms of his passing and chance creation metrics, Sorloth has registered just seven assists this season. However, with an average xA (expected assists) of just 0.11 per 90 minutes, Sorloth exceeds this metric, by achieving 0.14 assists per 90 minutes on average. He averages 0.07 second assists per 90 minutes on average as well.
The Norwegian also exceeds his average xG (expected goals) per 90 minutes. Despite his average xG being just 0.52, the striker is scoring at a rate of 0.70 goals pers 90 minutes on average.
Will Crystal Palace live to regret Sorloth's option to buy clause?
Yes
No
This is all achieved with just 2.53 shots per 90 minutes, on average.
It is fair to say that, with greater chances, Sorloth could score at an even higher rate than he already is. A move to one of Europe’s top teams could provide him with the service needed to do so.
If the player does end up leaving for just £8.29 million in the summer as previously agreed, there is a high chance the London-based club could be full of regret.
(all data and stats from Wyscout.com, accurate at the time of writing)