Raul Jimenez is reportedly attracting the interests of both Liverpool and West Ham, but is the Mexican striker the best option for either club?
The 26-year-old striker’s performances at this year’s Confederations Cup with Mexico, whom he has 54 caps for, have attracted the interests of the Reds and Hammers – with the latter attempting to sign the striker a couple of seasons previously.
But are his recent performances a true reflection of the type of player that either Premier League club would expect to have?
In 19 Primeira Liga appearances for Benfica last season, Jimenez scored a decent seven total goals and picked up one assist.
But the concerning statistic is the fact that Jimenez started just six of those matches, showing that he isn’t the first choice for the club – despite being the most expensive transfer in Portuguese football history.
In his 19 appearances, he had 1.6 shots, made 0.2 key passes and won 1.3 aerial challenges per match – seemingly not using his 6-foot-3 frame effectively.
With Benfica likely to expect to retain as much of the €22 million they have spent acquiring Raul Jimenez over the past two seasons, is he living up to the price tag?
If either Liverpool or West Ham are looking to sign players from the Primeira Liga, who could be a better option?
Enter Sporting CP’s Bas Dost.
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Dutch international Dost is two years older than Jimenez at 28, standing a couple of inches taller at 6-foot-5, and by all accounts has been tearing it up in Portugal.
Dost has played 31 Primeira Liga matches this past season, starting 30 of them, whilst also finding the back of the net far more often than his Mexican counterpart.
Dost scored an astonishing 34 goals and picked up a further four assists in the league for Sporting Lisbon, 15 goals more than the league’s second-top scorer Tiquinho Soares.
In the league he had 2.8 shots, made 0.7 key passes and won 3.5 aerial challenges per match – outperforming Jimenez in every category by some distance.
The Dutchman also comes with some decent pedigree, having spent four years in the Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg, scoring 36 goals in 85 appearances.
Jimenez’ only other venture in Europe came during a one-season spell with La Liga side Atletico Madrid, where he scored just one goal in 21 league appearances.
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If Liverpool and West Ham are considering bringing in a new striker, then Raul Jimenez may not provide them with much in the way of goalscoring.
Bas Dost, however, could be a better option for either club and would arrive off the back of a career-high goalscoring campaign.