Goncalo Ramos, mooted as a Manchester United target, has given some interesting insights into his incredible form this season.
The SL Benfica striker has seamlessly replaced Darwin Nunez for the Portuguese giants.
The Uruguayan completed a €100m move to Liverpool over the summer but has not been missed in the early stages of the season.
Ramos has stepped into the role with eight goals in twelve matches, cementing his position as first-choice.
Speaking to Mais Futebol, the forward opened up on his newfound importance to his team:
“The position I prefer and represent best is the attack reference position, the spearhead. But last year I was asked to play in support of our striker, who was Darwin, and I like it too.
“What matters is playing. Darwin’s departure made room for me or someone else to play. It would be weird if I said no.
“Darwin scored 35 goals or something. It’s great now to have the opportunity to play the role I like the most.”
He has certainly thrived playing under new manager Roger Schmidt, flourishing into a striker capable of helping his team in and out of possession, be it in the box or elsewhere.
“Increasingly, more is asked of a spearhead to be more complete. People thought that a striker is only there to score goals and the rest doesn’t matter, but I think that over the last few years that image is disappearing a little bit.
“It is increasingly important for a striker to be more in the game and contribute more to the team, to connect the game, to put pressure on.”
At 21 years of age, the striker appears to have a good understanding of what it means to be a modern striker and his statistics show that he is taking that understanding out onto the pitch.
His performances in Europe over the last year show him to apply Pressures at a rate of 19.6 per match, with 1.63 Interceptions per game ranking him in the 93rd percentile for attackers in that metric.
Ramos’ aerial dominance is certainly something Benfica have taken advantage of this season, with the striker winning a remarkable ten aerial duels in their unlikely 2-1 win over Juventus in the Champions’ League group stage.
With United on the lookout for a striker in January, a player with Ramos’ physicality and intelligence could be a huge boost to Erik ten Hag’s hopes of a successful season.
The Sun reported earlier in the month that a £25m bid was under consideration by the Manchester United hierarchy.
That would certainly seem a bargain in the current market, although should Ramos continue his current form, that price is likely to skyrocket.
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