Michael Beale has his eye on a striker to sign in the summer, a few names have been mentioned already with one being an exciting prospect that could well be about to explode on the big stage.
Signing teenagers and inexperienced players is always a risk but that is where the work that the recruitment team puts into scouting an analysis pays off, in the hope that the risk is minimised.
The youngster in question is 19-year old Petar Ratkov from TSC Backa Topola who, as revealed via Alo by club president Janos Zemberi, has already been the subject of bids and we will need to move fast when the transfer window re-opens if we are to secure the in-demand target man:
“We had three offers for Ratkov. They were written offers. Anderlecht offered 1.4 million euros and we immediately rejected that. Then Parma called and offered 1.7 euros plus bonuses, with which it would already be over two million. We still haven’t responded to the last offer.
“New York City offered over two million dollars (£1.7m) .
“We are waiting for the summer transfer window because we believe that his price will increase further. Again, I come back to patience. You have to wait.
“Another player should be signed in his place. We must have projects like Petar. If you’re only chasing results, then young players won’t have the patience, and we wouldn’t be able to make money either.”
Ratkov isn’t a stereotypical 6ft 4inch striker in that he predominantly plays off a main forward so, under Beale, he would probably operate in the position that Fashion Sakala plays in just now. He isn’t prolific, however, his numbers suggest that, with experience, he is gaining confidence all the time and that whoever gets him could well see his real breakthrough season.
The Serbia Under-21 international has seven goals and three assists but has shown a full repertoire of goals which, in a more dominant team, you would expect him to improve on even further.
The figures being talked about suggest that we won’t have to break the bank for Ratkov either, if anything, it is cheaper than the going rate you would pay for a similar player in Scotland or England and leaves a lot of room for both development and, in the worst case scenario, if it doesn’t work out, we wouldn’t be too much out of pocket.