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The Striker targets for the summer – by Craig Doyle

We need to sign a striker for next season and there is an abundance of talent available from Klass-Jan Huntelaar to Eren Derdiyok and all affordable to Newcastle. Here are the Striker targets for the summer transfer window. Discuss on our fans forum.

So here is the much anticipated striking targets list that was requested after the success of the midfield article.

Dean Ashton - West Ham (Signed new deal at Upton Park)

The first thing that almost every Newcastle fan will note about Ashton is that in many ways he can be compared to Alan Shearer. He has that big physical frame that gives him the strength to hold off defenders and is able to score goals from all sorts of situations. Ashton has shown great strength in the air with his ability to head home crosses with the least amount of effort. Not the quickest player in the world, Ashton does more than make up for it by applying himself across the pitch. With Bellamy injured for most of the season, his opportunities to link up with a smaller, faster player have been limited at best but I can see from the way he plays that linking up with another striker wouldn't be a problem. The anticipation skills of Owen may benefit a player like Ashton who has the ability to play a flick on header or bring the ball down and hold it up. West Ham are even reportedly looking to offload Ashton in the summer, which quickly suggests that there is a catch somewhere. In Ashton's case it is the fact he can't stay fit for more than 2-3 matches. Reliability is key to progression in the Premiership and paying out big money for a lad who is in and out of the team would be a massive risk. We have experienced that frustration already this season with Viduka and I'd rather not be in the same situation next term.

Peter Crouch - Liverpool

What is there to say about Crouch that hasn't already been said? Everyone has their own opinion of the big man and I have to admit that I've pitched my tent in the doubters camp. As a full England international, Crouch has ability. That fact is undeniable. Unfortunately the England frontline consists of one genuine goalscorer in Michael Owen and we already employ him. So what does Crouch have going for him that draws interest from other clubs? The most obvious thing is his height. He offers himself as an outlet for an aerial ball out of defense. However that is something that would have been more suited to an Allardyce side than a Keegan team. The one real ability we could do with is Crouch's skill in holding up the ball. For a big man he has quick feet and is clever enough to link up the play and bring other players into the game in more attacking positions. The major drawback is that Crouch doesn't play the game in a manner that allows him to use his physical attributes to his advantage. For someone so tall, heading the ball should be his real standout talent. Unfortunately you couldn't get a copy of the Daily Record under Crouch's feet when he goes airborne. Therefore it almost negates the strategy of using him as a target man to flick the ball on to a pacier striker. My biggest problem with Crouch is the price tag that has been placed on his head. For a rumoured £13M I fully believe I could go out and find a more prolific striker on the continent that has more to his game and will score more goals than Crouch. I'm also completely against financing Liverpool's summer spending by paying what I believe is double the price that Crouch is valued at.

Claudio Pizarro - Chelsea

While no club has officially been linked to the South American striker, he could certainly be available this summer as Chelsea have a bit of a clearout. His opportunities have been limited this season by the undroppable Drogba and the arrival of 'Le Sulk' from Bolton. The fact Chelsea tend to opt for one striker upfront with two midfielders hasn't helped much either. There was paper talk a few months ago suggesting Lampard was unhappy that Pizarro was being overlooked constantly as he felt Pizarro was one of the best trainers at the club and very committed. While he isn't the big name of Shevchenko or able to produce game turning goals like Drogba he is a solid striker and much like his ex teammate Roque Santa Cruz I think he'd be better suited playing for a team where he will feature every week.

Scott McDonald - Celtic

McDonald was one of the early links to appear in the papers after Keegan made mention of tapping into the Scottish market as he believed there to be some real talents hidden away. Quite what anyone sees in McDonald though I'm not so sure. There have been some quality strikers at Celtic in the last decade or so including Viduka & Larsson but McDonald doesn't stack up with either of those. He has always struck me as a rather average striker and almost anyone I speak to that follows the game closely in Scotland will repeat the same bland description about him being a decent finisher. Like many talents that find their way up to Scotland he started off with a 'smaller' SPL club and after making an impression was promptly bought up by the Old Firm side to ensure superiority in the league. For me, any player who chooses to leave their club to go to Celtic or Rangers usually shows a complete lack of ambition, especially when Premiership clubs were reported to have been interested. Unlike other big strikers at smaller clubs though McDonald is a regular in the Celtic team and has scored 26 goals this season. How much those goals would mean when considering who the opposition has been all year is the big question. For me, I'd leave him where he is.

Eidur Gudjohnsen - Barcelona

The Icelandic striker is sure to be among those departing Camp Nou this summer in what could be a massive clearout. Spells with both Chelsea and Barcelona in recent seasons have shown that he is not good enough to be an all out goalscoring striker at the very highest level. That is not to say he isn't a goalscorer. He just isn't prolific and I'd classify him more as a 'support striker' than a front man. I can understand that the club may struggle to attract a 20 goal per season man like Shearer and that we also have a good goalscorer in Owen so a natural finisher would not be essential but I do think there is a certain type of player that we need to focus on bringing in. Eidur just doesn't fit the bill for me and perhaps some of my concern lies with the fact that he is 'flexible' and able to play in midfield as well if needs be. At the moment I'm worried about signing a second Alan Smith and even at a paltry £4M, I'd have to think twice about bring Gudjohnsen on board as a first team regular. On the plus side he does tend to get a goal every three games which would put him way above Smith and Ameobi in terms of goalscoring frequency. A decent option to boost the squad size at best.

Javier Saviola - Real Madrid

The forgotten man of Spanish football. Saviola is still relatively young despite having been on the scene for what seems like many a year. His early career at Barcelona suggested he was going to breakthrough as the next big Argentinian talent, however his progress seemed to be hampered by the arrival of bigger and better stars robbing him of his first team opportunities and defining him as a bench player. Some may suggest that Saviola's smaller build worked against him but others would point to Messi and Tevez as counterexamples. What I think has limited Saviola most is his desire to play for a top club and not step down a level. At a smaller club he would more likely be the jewel in the crown as opposed to just another man at a big side. His move to Real has done little for his desire to play first team football and I fully expect him to look for pastures new over the summer. Saviola's skill with the ball at his feet would make him an asset to any side. He wouldn't tick the boxes as the all out frontman that we seek but I imagine he won't be particuarly expensive and would make a good addition to our squad should any of our strikers choose to depart.

Bafetimbi Gomis - St Etienne (Signed new contract)

The young Frenchman is a player I know little about. Even for someone who keeps a keen eye on what is happening in Lique 1 it is difficult to both identify and remember a player when he plays for a smaller side. The little snippets I have seen show a player that has strength, speed, intelligence and power. Take his 'predator' style haircut into account and the comparisons to Didier Drogba are inevitable. I do feel however that he doesn't have Drogba's rare ability to strike from anywhere to turn a game around. At the end of the day, few have that skill in their locker and from what I've seen of Gomis I'd like to draw comparisons to Darren Bent when he was at Charlton. There are similarities between the quality of the sides and the way that the player is able to find so many goals from fewer chances than his striking rivals at bigger clubs. Unlike Bent though, Gomis has to go to the right club where he will be number one choice and not a bit part player if he wants to advance his career. Otherwise he could follow the same path Bent has and let what looks to be a promising international career slide away. The big question over Gomis is just how much do you pay for somebody with no Premier League experience but plenty of potential. Having signed a new deal with St Etienne the quoted value will have risen to around £15M. If we compare with Bent again for a second that is just £2M less than the Englishman went for after displaying his pedigree for two seasons at the top level. A cautious approach is require and I'd like to see more of Gomis before diving in with the chequebook open.

Djibril Cisse - Marseille

I've added Cisse to the list based upon the fact that he is interested in getting back into the English game. He has informed the Marseille board that he loves the English style of play and would jump at the chance of a move back across the channel. The board are understood to have given clubs the go ahead to make an approach for the Frenchman. Like GudJohnsen, Cisse has had the experience of playing in the Premiership before with a big side. While some may reflect on his stay as a rather average display it is easy to forget that he did suffer a horrendous broken leg before being frozen out by Benitez. Cisse has a lot of the attributes that can be expected from an out and out frontman. Power, pace and strength allow him to compete in the physical aspects of the English game. He just missed out on the Euro 2008 squad, most likely due to the man above, but that says little as the always excellent at club level, Trezeguet wasn't on the plane to Austria/Switzerland either. Cisse racked up the goals in France last term but in the process he reminded everyone why he can be such a frustrating player at times. While he has the technical ability to score some fantastic goals he has the tendency to switch off and miss simple opportunities. Headers tend to present a bit of a problem for Cisse who looks a lot more comfortable with his feet. I also think he is similar to Martins in that he lacks the ability to read the game and take chances on getting into goalscoring positions. I've no idea how highly Marseille rate Cisse but at the right price he may present an alternative option to some of the bigger or up and coming names.

Klass-Jan Huntelaar - Ajax

Huntelaar has risen to become the biggest name in the Dutch league over the last few seasons. Like many strikers who rise through the ranks of Dutch football Huntelaar has shown he can score in excess of 30 goals per season against domestic opposition. His exploits have taken him as far as the Dutch national setup and have reportedly drawn interest from Man Utd (for the last 3 summers), Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid etc. However I'm unaware of anyone actually submitting a bid to his current club, Ajax. What Huntelaar has that makes him special is his ability to conjure up something from nothing. He has been compared to the great Van Basten by the media but I feel he has a long way to go and much to prove if he is ever to live up to that tag. Nonetheless I have seen him score goals with his back to goal, from acute angles and long range. He is skilled with his feet and his head meaning he is a dangerous all rounder. The real downside to Huntelaar is the one big question that exists with any export from the Netherlands; "Can he do it on a bigger stage where the competition is at a high level each week?". Early appearances in the national side have done little to answer the question and the poor performances of Ajax, who have failed to reach the group stages of the Champions' League and have found themselves out of the UEFA Cup in the earliest rounds in the last few years have certainly not helped anyone make their mind up over Huntelaar's ability. For my money he is exactly the sort of man Newcastle could do with. He is both the goalscorer and the link up man in attack. He can hold onto the ball and redistribute it if needs be but will always remain a threat to the goal. I just wonder if anyone will swoop in this summer with a mega money offer to secure the services of a man who has the potential to be one of the best in Europe.

Mario Gomez - Stuttgart

Gomez is a relatively new name among the future stars of European football. Last season marked his real breakthrough into regular first team football in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart. The youngster emerged as the surprise package of the league, netting enough goals to see him sitting second in the top scoring charts behind Bayern's Luca Toni despite spending time sidelined with a niggling injury. Gomez's whole game is based around finishing. Having said that, he isn't the Van Nistelrooy, 'fox in the box' style poacher that looks to add a finish touch to a cross, pass or loose ball. Instead Gomez looks comfortable taking the ball for a run, moving it and then sliding or bundling the ball beyond the goalkeeper. Appearances in the Bundesliga suggest that he revels in the one on one situation and in the matches I have watched he has reguarly ended up the winner against the goalkeeper. I can see Gomez being more suited to a two man pairing up front than as the spearhead for a three man attack. I think if Newcastle were to go out and create a midfield that is capable of providing the service to the strikers then Gomez would be ideal partnering either Owen or Martins in attack. I know he is unlikely to be available on the cheap and bringing in such a young player to a highly competitive league will represent a risk at his likely price tag but I believe Gomez is another one of those young stars who will push on and become a massive asset in the next few years. I actually believe he is attainable as well. Most of the big clubs seem to be concentrating on swapping their big name established strikers around. There could be a gap in the market place for smaller clubs to chase second tier talent as well as emerging talent while the big guns fight it out for the household names.

Lukas Podolski - Bayern Munich

After scoring a double for Germany the other night against Poland it seems that Podolski's stock has risen once again and that may put him back on the radar of Europe's elite. However, there was talk of him being unsettled at Bayern back in January, citing lack of opportunities as his reason for wanting a move out of Munich. In recent months however he has been able to reinvent himself as more of a support striker or wing foward and in turn has pushed his way back into the starting lineup at Bayern. Podolski is certainly not a full on centre forward as he likes to pick the ball up from a deeper position and influence the play. He certainly does have the finishing touch of a striker though as those watching the other night will testify. I think if Newcastle were looking to continue with a three up front then Podolski might be the sort of player we'd be interested in. However I'm thinking Keegan may be after a stronger player to lead the line as opposed to another striker playing a supporting role. Despite earlier rumours of a move to Man City, I'd also question the availabilty of Podolski now that he is back on form and featuring for Bayern Munich. He has Champions' League football this season and will slowly start to generate interest among the big clubs across the continent again. It should also be highlighted that former German national coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, is set to take over a Bayern and is known to be a fan of the young striker.

Eren Derdiyok - FC Basel

Continuing the tour around Europe takes us to Switzerland for a player I knew pretty much nothing about until last week. Being right down the order of seniority in terms of strikers with the Swiss national side his chance arrived in the second fixture against Turkey. I was impressed straight away by how he imposes himself on the game using his height and his build to his advantage. Unlike Crouch, Derdiyok plays to his physical strengths and looked to win flick on headers and hold up the ball when the chances presented themselves. He played the decisive pass that made the first goal and a very impressive cross field ball that almost led to Yakin scoring what would have been a winner in the second half. Only 20, he has a lot of potential and if he has a good strike on him then he would be comparable to Lyon's young striker Karim Benzema. I'm certain his age and wage demands would tick all the boxes up in the boardroom and even if we are looking elsewhere for a first choice striker this season there would be little wrong with trying to tie down this lad for the season after.

Discuss in our fans forum.