Strikers as hottest stocks
Sports directors want players with resale value, that is: as young as possible, as unknown as possible, but highly talented and interesting for larger clubs. Examples such as Rasmus Højlund and Fally Mayulu have shown us how it’s done. The 23 strikers and wingers that Sturm, Rapid, Austria, Salzburg and LASK signed over the last three transfer windows were on average 20 years old and had made 50 appearances at professional level. Only two of them – Thierry Gale and Maximilian Entrup – have played at least one international match.
With an average of 145 games, the midfielders who were bought are significantly more experienced and, at 23.3 years old, also a good deal older. The situation is similar for the defenders: they were also an average of 23.3 years old when they arrived in Austria and have already played around 125 games in their careers.
Size is a priority
It is noticeable that the physical aspect is also likely to play an increasingly important role. New field players under Salzburg’s sports director Bernhard Seonbuchner were on average 1.85 metres tall. Sturm Graz and Andi Schicker are also moving in this direction, even if Brighton loanee Malick Yalcouye the average to 1.83. The search for the optimal physical conditions in defence is the clearest. Only three of 35 new signings from the big clubs – Hakim Guenouche, George Handsome and Matteo Pérez Vinlöf – are under 1.80 meters tall. On average, the defenders are 1.86 meters tall.
The goalkeepers are in a league of their own; at 26.3 meters, they are significantly older and, at 1.91 meters, also a good deal taller than their colleagues.
At the current point in time, it can be assumed that such trends will continue to solidify. LASK and Sturm Graz have already reduced the proportion of Austrians in their 2023/24 season by around 17 percent, and Rapid is currently experiencing a similar development. Austria Vienna and WAC will probably follow suit in the medium term. The Bundesliga has established itself as a training league and will not deviate from this path.
