Meet Serhou Guirassy: The Bundesliga marksman overshadowing Harry Kane

VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy has been the surprise package of the current campaign. 

His double against Darmstadt 98 last week made him the first player this season to score 10 goals in Europe's top five leagues. By doing so, he joined Robert Lewandowski as the only other player in Bundesliga history to hit double figures in the opening five games of the season. 

The 2022/23 season was a tumultuous period for Die Schwaben, as the club changed three managers and narrowly avoided relegation. Guirassy, who was on loan at the club, scored 11 goals and was pivotal to their survival. 

The 27-year-old might seem like an unknown entity to the casual football fan, but he was a very promising talent who had been on the radar of many high profile clubs since his early 20’s. But his career never seemed to fully kick off. 

We have seen players such as Didier Drogba and Jamie Vardy who were late bloomers in their career. This also seems to be the case with Guirassy, who finally finds himself in the right environment to make his mark. 

Serhou Guirassy’s Transfer Value - how much is he worth? 

According to FootballTransfer’s player valuation model, Guirassy has a current Expected Transfer Value (xTV) of €6.6m. A player's value starts to fall as they get closer to their 30’s, so he is clearly undervalued by the market - especially if you take his performances into account. 

The French-born hitman allegedly has a €15m release clause in his contract and that is sure to attract the attention of many teams looking to upgrade their frontline. Stuttgart are reportedly trying to tie him down to a new contract with a much higher release clause, but they will be powerless in stopping him from making a move next summer if his current form continues. 

Serhou Guirassy’s strengths and weaknesses - what does the data say? 

Guirassy is what they call a pure striker. If you give him minutes on the pitch, he will get you goals. One might wonder why he has not scored more than 11 league goals in any season.  

If we dig deeper into his career, we see that the forward has never played more than 2000 minutes in any previous campaign, whether that be due to injury or otherwise. But his goal scoring is evident when you normalise his goals scored on a per 90 minute basis. 

He scored 0.43 goals per 90 for FC Koln in the 2017/18 season, 0.42 goals per 90 for Aimens in the 2019/20 season and 0.51 goals per 90 for Rennes in the 2020/21 season - where he also scored two goals in four Champions League games. 

Quite simply, he has almost scored a goal every other game in multiple leagues across multiple seasons. This season his strike rate of two goals per game has gone beyond what anyone thought was possible, and will possibly normalise as the season progresses, but it has certainly put him on the map as a player to keep an eye on.  

So what has happened this season?

To understand more we need to go back to the appointment of current Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeneß at the end of last season.  

Guirassy was always a great finisher with the ability to convert low quality chances into goals. But the right footed marksman benefited from Hoeneß’s tactical setup, which utilised his back to goal play and surrounded him with players who could feed him in the box. He responded with five goals in the new manager's first eight games. 

The Guinean also shows clever movement and link up play to progress his team's attacks. So he can still contribute in games where the service is lacking. 

Guirassy’s confidence has continued to grow, and was on full display during his stunning second-half hat-trick against Mainz recently. His first goal was a beautiful chip after being played in behind, the second was a controlled strike that showcased his quick feet in the box and he showed great composure for the third and dinked the ball over the defender before coolly heading it over the rushing goalkeeper. 

It is incredible to think that Guirassy has managed to grab headlines away from Harry Kane’s excellent start to his Bayern career. But this has also made the battle for the Bundesliga Golden boot a far more interesting one.

This article was provided by FootballTransfers