Brighton sign Europe's most prolific striker!

It's taken a few years but Brighton have finally found the clinical striker they've been looking for to play alongside Neal Maupay. The deal for USG forward Deniz Undav reportedly cost the seagulls around €7m (an absolute bargain for a player with his stats) but he will remain on loan until the end of the season to hopefully win USG the Belgium Pro League title at the first time of asking. What a season that would make for Undav... The German signed a long term deal with Potter's side until 2026 so we're going to dive into what Albion fans can expect from the new man for hopefully many years to come.

Deniz Undav is a 5ft 10 in striker who has played 24 games so far this season (2104 minutes) and has been excelling in every aspect of the attacking game. He can drop deep and pick up the ball from midfield and dribble to carry his team forward (Undav has completed 11 successful dribbles so far this season, that's 0.47 per 90 and has a success rate of 42%) which is a big part of Potter's system so one box is already ticked. The USG man is also very good in wide areas providing crosses for his team mates to score from, something Brighton are very hit and miss on so fans will be hoping he can change that with his deliveries and also in the box himself (So far Deniz has completed 24 crosses which is about 1.03 per 90) . Brighton's main strikers this season have been Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck who have a combined 10 goals so far (Maupay with 7, Welbeck with 3) but they only have a combined 2 assists with both coming from Neal Maupay. Both players excellent at scoring but don't chip in with many assists. Whereas Deniz Undav has a total of 13 assists so far this season, more than 6 times what Brighton's strikers have. Already a huge boost in goals being scored! Now the most important stats the Albion fans will want to see... goals and finishing. USG have been on fire this season and a massive part of that is down to Deniz Undav and his goals, he's fired in a massive 18 in only 24 games! As I mentioned in my Brereton Diaz blog, Brighton rarely score from open play crosses because the likes of Maupay, Trossard and Mac Allister are much better with the ball at their feet compared to in the air. Undav may only be 5ft 10 in but he is very good in the air (The German has won 25 heading duels this season, 1.07 per 90) so Brighton fans can expect to see more headed goals. In total Undav has taken 91 shots this season (3.89 per 90) and scored 20% of them, which is an excellent rate. The Albion create many chances per game so we can hopefully expect Undav to be putting up similar stats in the Premier League (shot accuracy of 42%). Deniz Undav is a complete all rounder so Brighton could potential have found their perfect striker to compliment Neal Maupay, if this partnership thrives you can expect to see both foward's stats be in double figures. Undav x Maupay taking Brighton to European football?

You may have thought I was exaggerating when I said 'Brighton sign Europe's most prolific striker' but I'm not. This season Deniz Undav has a total of 31 goal contributions in Europe's top 10 leagues with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah coming second with 25. The Brighton board physically couldn't bring in a better striker than Undav... the perfect signing!