Hull City, Cardiff City, Bristol City and Stoke City are all interested in signing AFC Wimbledon striker Ali Al-Hamadi.
According to journalist Darren Witcoop, Leeds and Sunderland are reportedly interested in signing the Iranian international during the January transfer window. The four second-tier teams are also considering bringing him in.
It was exclusively disclosed by Football League World that Peterborough United, a League One team, had their summer bid for the 21-year-old turned down. Witcoop continued by saying that Barnsley had also had a bid to acquire Al-Hamadi rejected because the Dons demanded more than £1 million for the forward.
The 2022–2023 season was the Iranian international’s EFL debut. In 19 league games, he scored 10 goals, and this season, he has continued to play well.
Al-Hamadi has scored nine goals and provided nine assists so far in the 2023–24 league season. According to Sofascore, the 21-year-old has also generated four major opportunities and plays just under two vital passes per game.
He didn’t have a great start to the season; it took him nearly a month to contribute to his first goal. However, since the beginning of September, he has truly found his rhythm once more.
Initially, the Wimbledon striker’s goal scoring ability drew the attention of several teams. But now that he has included several playmaking skills into his repertoire, he is a far more complete forward.
He tended to play more from the right side of the pitch last season, but this year he has been used more centrally. Though it makes sense that this would put him in better scoring situations, the fact that he is also producing for others in these areas elevates his potential even more.
They added offensive alternatives like Wesley, Ryan Mmaee, and Andre Vidigal during a highly promising summer transfer window, but they haven’t been particularly effective in front of goal.
With 22 big chances generated in 15 matches, the Potters are ranked 17th in the Championship for big chance creation. According to Opta, these are circumstances in which a player should be able to score.
According to Sofascore, they have missed 15 of the 22 excellent opportunities. It’s clear that the team needs someone who can both generate and seize opportunities. This is just not a good enough return on their summertime investment given the amount they committed.
Al-Hamadi has demonstrated that he is a capable creator and finisher for teammates. He was capable of handling Stoke’s front-of-goal issues on his own.
The fact that he has only achieved success in League Two—a far cry from the Championship—makes purchasing him risky. The cost would be the other issue. A seven-figure sum is rarely paid for a League Two player; just ten such amounts have been paid for a fourth division player in the history of the league, per Transfermarkt.com.
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