The Brazilian 'alternative' to the striker issue

I've written about his German teammate, Max Kruse, already, but Borussia Möchengladbach's other offensive weapon, Brazilian forward Raffael, deserves a look as well.  In 34 appearances, he scored 15 goals and assisted on 7 more in the Bundesliga last season.  None of those were penalties, giving him a 0.45 goal per 90 minute average and a goal creation rate of 0.66 per 90.  His most impressive stat though is his take-on rate of 5.1 successful dribbles per 90 at a 68.7% efficiency.

The Fortaleza, Brazil native came to Europe in the summer of 2005, joining FC Zürich of the Swiss Super League.  His impact was instant as he helped lead his new club to back-to-back league titles, scoring 40 goals and dishing out 20 assists in 70 appearances, nearly a goal created per match.  He would leave Switzerland for Hertha BSC in the January 2008 transfer window for £3.8m.

His stay in Berlin was not as fruitful.  In his four-and-a-half seasons there, he scored just 33 goals with 29 assists in 140 appearances, and twice his club suffered relegation.  After the second relegation, he transferred to Dynamo Kyiv for £8m, but continued his poor form, lasting only half a campaign where he scored just once in 9 league appearances before being loaned to Schalke in January 2013.

Though he made just 16 appearances for Gelsenkirchen club, his performance accented by a goals created per 90 average of 0.79 and a chance created per 90 of 2.71 was enough to earn him a transfer to Gladbach last summer.  His pace, quick feet, and positioning make him a threat to score nearly every time his club have the ball in the opponent's third.  He is also a solid passer, posting an 83.7% pass completion rate and creating 2.1 chances per 90 the last five seasons.

The negatives of signing Raffael are that he is 29-years-old and I doubt he would come cheap coming off his somewhat sensational season.  Gladbach really want to keep the squad together so they can have a shot at Champions League qualification, so prying a major contributor to that goal would be costly.  He did just turn 29 and probably has a couple of seasons left in him, but I'm unsure how the wear and tear of the Prem would effect him.  At this point though, we need competent bodies and Raffael would be a solid add in that regard.