Yer havin' a Laugh-ezzi: 29-year-old forward simply overrated

Ezequiel Lavezzi is like a fine wine, he's gotten better with age, but is he good enough to help Liverpool win?  He doesn't score many goals, he has more than his fair share of turnovers, and he's an average passer at best, though he does make his passes count.  Over the past five seasons, he has a 2.03 chances created per 90 and a chance created value of 10.67%, both above average numbers in any league.

Ironic enough, the thing he does best was the about the only thing he hasn't consistently improved upon each season.  Last season he posted career percentage highs in pass completion (79.25%), shot accuracy (53.19%), and shot on target rate (19.15%).  Unfortunately, he set a career low in assists with zero and a chance created value also of zero, despite a 1.73 chance created per 90.  His turnover rate of 12.8 was a career low, but it's still not great and at 29, how many seasons does he have left in him?  We don't need another Rickie Lambert.

What is really alarming is that he has never posted a positive goals on pitch difference for any club any season, meaning he has never been a consistent contributor (or game changer) for a positive overall result.  In fact, his worst gopd season came last year, when he posted a -0.31 despite playing for the Ligue 1 champions.

There's really nothing Lavezzi does great, he's just an all-round good second striker.  He's not a 'big' signing, despite the hype and I get the feeling Rodgers would have to drastically overpay for him, a luxury we can't afford now that we've added Lovren and Origi at exorbitant prices.  He doesn't have the pace to compete in the Prem anymore, if he ever truly did, and there's really nothing in his past that indicates he's suddenly going to be a world beater.  Personally, I think Liverpool should pass and try to get Reus, Shaquiri, or Kruse.

'Forgotten' French striker may be able to fill Remy void

Kevin Gameiro, as it would seem, has had a career of ups-and-downs, but the truth is, he's been consistently productive.  When the French striker transferred from Lorient to PSG in the summer of 2011, he gave up a starting spot to be a squad player, which is admirable and earned him a Ligue 1 title, but also stunted his development.  At 23, he was coming off his most productive season: 22 goals, 0.70 goals created per 90 minutes, and 1.57 chances created per 90 minutes.

His first season in Paris, could probably be labeled a 'failure'. He posted the second lowest non-penalty goals created of that point in his career and lowest since at 0.40 per 90 minutes and his career low of -0.21 goals on pitch difference.  He showed he wasn't ready to be the starting striker on a league contender and Zlatan Ibrahimović was brought in to take over that spot.  Despite being relegated to the bench, Gameiro got better and put up impressive numbers for what little time he saw the pitch.

In the 2012-13 season, Gameiro became a super-sub, producing much of the best per 90 and percentage stats of his career:

npg90	gc90	gc90	pass%	cr%	sacc%	gopd
0.82	0.92	0.92	84.9	30.8	65.52	0.72

A mutual parting, found him in Sevilla, partnered with the likes of Carlos Bacca, Jose Antonio Reyes, Ivan Ratikic, and Vitolo.  Last season, his first with the Andalusian club, he appeared to return to his all-round attacking form that he seemed to lose at PSG.  He posted nearly as many chances created in one season than he did in two at the French club (28 to 30) and his overall stats improved, including a career low in turnovers:

npg90	ap90	gc90	cc90	ccv	pass%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
0.62	0.14	0.86	1.33	0.107	78.22%	53.70%	24.07%	10.24

Gameiro showed he could do what he did in his limited final season in Paris, for a whole season in Spain.  He is coming into his prime, just turning 27 and finally looks ready to be a major contributor for a contender.  He may not have the ability of a Suarez, but he's certainly better than an Antoine Griezmann. Here are his stats from last year:

npg90	ap90	gc90	cc90	ccv	pass%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
0.54	0.1	0.64	1.15	8.7	77.20%	47.70%	14.40%	10.9

Gameiro bettered him in every single stat and Griezmann arguably had a better supporting side.

Let Man United waste their dosh on Cavani

Is Edinson Cavani the most overrated player in the world? If not, he's up there.  He can't pass, he can't shoot, he can't dribble, and he does not create goals.  What is the big deal?

His stats from last season do nothing to justify his £50m+ estimation:

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.55	0.71	0.9	0.08	8.7
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
85.5	62.3	36.5	16.7	9.5
gsp90	gap90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
2.12	0.63	1.49	1.61	-0.12

His pass success rate of 85.5% is excellent, at being misleading.  I'm not sure If I have ever seen a back pass percentage above 60, even Iago Aspas had 58.1% last season.  He does have a low turnover rate, but he wasn't exactly the primary ball carrier for PSG, they do have a few other well-known footballers on their squad.  In fact, he only averaged 28 pass attempts and 3.8 shots per 90 minutes last season, for perspective, Ibrahimovic averaged 50 and 5.2 respectively.

Further proof that his passing rate from last season was an anomaly:

year	age	club	comp	app(sub)	pcom	patt	pass%
2012-13	26	Napoli	Serie A	33(1)	544	598	77.9
2011-12	25	Napoli	Serie A	32(3)	551	758	72.7
2010-11	24	Napoli	Serie A	32(3)	495	678	73
2009-10	23	Palermo	Serie A	31(3)	523	682	76.7
				totals	2113	2716	77.8

His previous four year average is nearly 8 points lower.  All those expensive teammates make him look like a Pirlo, when he's really just a Kevin Nolan.  Oddly enough, his 8.7 ccv is his lowest in five years, while his career high was 18.8, his first season in Napoli.  His five year average though is only 11.

Cavani is far from worth £50m, he's probably not even worth £15m. I hope Van Gaal buys him though, it will just add to the horrible deals they made this summer.