Jesper Fredberg promised to strike faster and harder in the coming summer months compared to the previous winter mercato. The Sports CEO is already working on identifying possible new acquisitions, and he is eyeing two profiles for this. Bernard Tekpetey (Ludogorets), the Ghanaian striker who played against Anderlecht twice in the UEFA Conference League, and Michal Skoras (Lech Poznan), one of the great sensations of the same European competition. Tekpetey and Skoras are both left flank attackers, which makes it seem that Anderlecht wants to cash in with a sale of Francis Amuzu.
TEKPETEY: SPUR BOMB WITH RETURNS
The 25-year-old attacker has already had a whole host of clubs, including Schalke 04, SCR Altach, SC Paderborn and Fortuna Düsseldorf respectively, but it is at his current club Ludogorets where Bernard Tekpetey really gets his career on track. The Ghanaian was brought to Europe in 2016 by Schalke – with club icon Gerald Asamoah as the great booster – but he was unable to continue in Gelsenkirchen. At the level of the 2. Bundesliga at Paderborn, he managed to put himself in the picture.
“Bernard can play in different attacking positions because he is bipedal and because he can think quickly,” Markus Krösche, CEO of Paderborn, previously said of him. “He has tremendous dynamics, high game intelligence and he has good positioning.” But it is especially with Ludogorets that his career took off. Last year, for example, he won the prize of the best foreign player of the year in Bulgaria, according to the research agency CIES he was the fifth best player of the league and of course Tekpetey was also part of the team of the year.
????Ghana’s Bernard Tekpetey had to give Ludogoretz their last joy in 2022 before they halt the league for the Christmas break by scoring the decisive goal against Levski Sofia in a league game that ended 2-1 for his side.
A good mark to end the year✌????#SantaBT37???? @BTekpetey32 pic.twitter.com/TXk02Yv1H4
— Perry Paisley (@PerryPaisley) December 4, 2022
As a footballer, Bernard Tekpetey mainly mirrors Nani, the Portuguese flank attacker who made a name for himself at Manchester United, but in terms of playing style he has a lot in common with Francis Amuzu. Both attackers are lightning fast, for example, Tekpetey reached a top speed of 35 km per hour at Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2020, which made him one of the ten fastest players in the German Bundesliga. Tekpetey even trumped Canadian sprinter Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich).
On the other hand, Bernard Tekpetey also sometimes plays football with the blinkers on, which is also one of Francis Amuzu’s major working points. On the other hand, Tekpetey puts much more return in his game. The Ghanaian striker currently has 12 decisive plays (8 goals and 4 assists) in the Bulgarian league, a high number that makes him the fifth most decisive player there. In comparison: Amuzu has ‘only’ scored 8 decisive actions (3 goals and 5 assists) in the Jupiler Pro League this season.
Bernard Tekpetey netted against Cherno Varna in the Bulgarian league last night.
And what a strike that was ???? pic.twitter.com/oVPdHzgjUD
— Bill Eshun (@Bill_Eshun) August 30, 2022
SKORAS: MAJOR SENSATION IN CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Anderlecht did not (yet) meet Michal Skoras and Lech Poznan in the UEFA Conference League, and that might be a good thing. The 23-year-old flank forward has already scored 9 decisive actions (7 goals and 2 assists) this season in the current Conference League campaign, where Poznan will meet Fiorentina in the quarter-finals. Skoras is even the third most decisive player in the Conference League, after Joel Asoro (Djurgarden, 10), Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznan, 10) and Vangelis Pavlidis (11, AZ Alkmaar).
Michal Skoras is also a four-time Polish international, who played in the group stage against Argentina in the previous World Cup. Markus Rosenberg, ex-striker of Ajax, Werder Bremen and West Bromwich Albion, among others, spoke highly of Skoras in an interview with TVP SPORT.PL. Rosenberg was impressed with Skoras’ performance with Lech Poznan against Djurgarden. “Skoras has the potential to become a fantastic footballer,” said Rosenberg. “Poznan was very strong, but I want to highlight one player: Michal Skoras.”
???? Michal Skóras ????
How impressive has he been this season? ????@LechPoznan | #UECL pic.twitter.com/fVy29DzQlr
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) November 18, 2022
The 23-year-old will leave Lech Poznan this summer – with slight certainty – and with Anderlecht, Galatasaray, Bologna and Montpellier HSC there are already enough hijackers on the coast for him. Michal Skoras should cost around 7 million euros and that is in line with his current market value of 6 million euros, a valuation that makes him the second most expensive player in the Polish Ekstraklasa on paper. That 7 million euros is an unofficial amount between Lech Poznan and the entourage of Skoras, and it will therefore only be possible to deviate minimally.
Such an amount is therefore not a lot for the Anderlecht mouth, which makes Michal Skoras seem a rather unfeasible transfer target for Sporting. It’s a pity, because he proved in the UEFA Conference League, in which he is the third most decisive player of the entire competition, that he has a lot to offer. Skoras is fast and he has a great right foot. On the other hand, by constantly looking for his right foot, he is fairly predictable in the dribbles and in the actions. And in addition, his targeting also needs to be sharpened a lot.
???????? Michał Skóraś flying in the group stage this season ????
#LPOLGD
Michael Skoras pic.twitter.com/ZnyGulg8Jn– ????????????́???????? ⚽ (@Macko_director) March 3, 2023
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