Crystal Palace are interested in signing ex-Sunderland striker Fabio Borini, per Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness, but what would he bring to Selhurst Park?
On the chalkboard
This season, it’s difficult to know because Borini has only played 70 minutes of football across two appearances for Milan.
Last term, though, he made 20 appearances in total, 10 as a starter and 10 from the bench.
He scored just two goals and registered a mere two assists and his statistics are instructive.
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Per WhoScored, he averaged 1.5 shots per game, 0.7 key passes and 0.4 dribbles, while he was fouled 1.7 times per game.
Defensively, he averaged 0.7 tackles per game, 0.6 interceptions and 0.9 clearances.
Per Transfermarkt, he was primarily utilised as a left winger, scoring both of his goals – against Genoa and Bologna – from that position.
Did he really play for us?! No Palace fan has managed to name all of these obscure Eagles signings….
A utility man and nothing more
Borini, valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, is unlikely to get into the Palace first-team.
His statistics suggest he is a player who works hard but rarely has any end product to go with it.
He has struggled in the Premier League before, making 111 appearances across spells at both Sunderland and Liverpool but scoring just 16 goals and providing six assists.
That works out at a rate of a goal every 0.14 games.
He isn’t likely to dislodge Wilfried Zaha from his position in the XI, while he doesn’t even have the goal record to suggest he could play ahead of Christian Benteke up front.
Palace should only bring Borini in as an absolute last resort.
Meanwhile, one Palace ace has disrespected the club.