EXCLUSIVE: Why 'one-season wonder' Guirassy will succeed at Man Utd or Arsenal

Tom Weber

Updated: 13 May 2024 22:42 BST
4 min read

Late bloomer Serhou Guirassy has all the necessary requirements to play for clubs like Arsenal or Manchester United, according to Bundesliga and Guinea legend Pablo Thiam.

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The VfB Stuttgart striker has enjoyed a fairytale season both at club and on a personal level. Under Sebastian Hoeneß's guidance, the Swabians have gone from relegation battlers to Champions League participants in the space of a year.

Stuttgart wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the goals of Guirassy. The Guinean sharpshooter has notched an utterly absurd 28 goals and three assists in 29 appearances across all competitions. Had his season not been disrupted by injury and AFCON, the 28-year-old could have posed a serious threat to Harry Kane's Golden Boot bid.

Speculation surrounding Guirassy has been rampant since last summer. Fitted with a release clause worth just €17.5 million, the striker is one of Europe's most sought-after commodities, though given his injury record, age and previous unimpressive output, there are fears that he is just a 'one-season wonder.'

© IMAGO - Serhou Guirassy and Chris Führich

Guirassy good enough for Man Utd & Arsenal

Despite these well-founded concerns, Guirassy continues to be linked with some of the world's biggest clubs due to his price. Man Utd have been hot on his trail since January and, more recently, Arsenal began being associated with the Guinean.

This came after FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that the Gunners would be open to moving for a cheaper centre-forward rather than the €100m stars they had previously been linked with.

STATS

Serhou Guirassy

F (CRL)

VfB Stuttgart

Serhou Guirassy

F (CRL)

VfB Stuttgart

29

Games
28

Goals
3

Assists

But is Guirassy really good and reliable enough to line up for clubs of this stature? To find out, FootballTransfers spoke to perhaps the most qualified person to answer this question: Pablo Thiam. The former midfielder is a Bundesliga legend who played for Köln, Bayern and Wolfsburg. Crucially, Thiam also suited up for Stuttgart and Guinea, like Guirassy.

According to him, the 28-year-old has the necessary skillset to succeed at one of the Premier League's bigshots. "I think he has the potential in terms of ability," Thiam told FootballTransfers. "It's not like he has scored a few goals in the Bundesliga by chance, but that after Kane, for me, he's the striker who shapes the Bundesliga in terms of his whole style of play."

"He has now proven that over a whole season at VfB Stuttgart, who are playing some of the best football this year, if you perhaps also include Leverkusen and Bayern. That's why I have 100 per cent confidence in him and would, of course, like him to stay in the Bundesliga, so that we have these interesting players in our leagues, but it is also quite possible that he will decide to take such a big step for himself personally."