Henry’s verdict on PL strikers

With the Premier League kicking off this weekend, Thierry Henry spoke to Sky Sports about the big striker moves this summer.

Alexandre Lacazette

‘I have been following Lacazette for a long time. He has been a talent since youth level. He has always been a guy that people have talked about. At Lyon he scored goal after goal after goal, so it is not surprising that he was hot property on the transfer market. We all know about his quality. He’s an excellent finisher. He has a great mind, a great mentality, great commitment and great focus. When you buy players from abroad you don’t know for sure how they will adapt, but I back Lacazette to be successful in the Premier League’.

Romelu Lukaku

‘He’s definitely ready for this move. He has paid his dues. He didn’t get much of a chance at Chelsea for whatever reason, so he went to West Brom and delivered. At Everton, he more than delivered. He smashed club records which had stood for a long time, so you have to give him credit. What I can say about him is that he is a massive student of the game. Everything he does, he does at 100 per cent. I’m as excited as anyone to see how good he is going to be at United. It’s definitely a plus to have a guy like Romelu in your team. Anything that drops in the box is usually a goal’.

Alvaro Morata

‘He is the type of striker that Antonio Conte likes. He’s generous in the way he plays, he knows what he needs to do at all times. He asks for the ball in behind, he holds the ball up and he can score goals too. He will need to get used to the Premier League but then he will perform. I’m very excited about him. It’s a heavy task to come after Diego Costa but someone has to do it. Someone had to do it after Didier Drogba, someone had to do it after Gianfranco Zola. That’s the way it is. When you look at Morata’s numbers you know the guy can score goals. I like him and I hope it works out’.

 

Javier Hernandez

‘He’s an old-fashioned striker, in a way. He’s lethal in the box and he can hold the ball. We’ve seen it since he was at Manchester United. It’s not always easy to just come off the bench and score but he used to come up with some big goals at crucial moments. It looks like a very, very good buy for West Ham. He knows the league and he has the experience of playing for two of the biggest teams in the world in Manchester United and Real Madrid’.

Wayne Rooney

‘First and foremost I think it was an obvious move for him. The man is an Everton supporter and he’s gone back home. People were asking whether it was the right choice, but you can’t fault someone for wanting to go back home. No one could question his desire when he wore the Manchester United shirt, but he’s an Everton fan. I would love him to do well. You hope that it’s going to be a great Hollywood ending and he can help Everton win something. It looks like they are building a team there. If they get Gylfi Sigurdsson along with Rooney and maybe a few more, then the top six will have to watch out’.

Kelechi Iheanacho

‘It will be interesting to see how he interacts with Jamie Vardy. Is he going to do the job of Shinji Okazaki? Is Okazaki going to keep his place? Are they going to be more adventurous? I don’t know whether Craig Shakespeare will play a 4-4-1-1 or a proper 4-4-2, but it’s a good signing. Whenever he had to do something at Manchester City, even when things were not great for the team, he delivered. People might say he had better players around him but let’s not forget that Leicester won the league two years ago. They have some good players too’.