Pulis Rekindles Makukula Interest

  Stoke are reported to be back in the hunt for Benfica and Portugal striker Ariza Makukla, with some reports in the Porteugeuse media claiming that Tony Pulis has already tabled a £4.5 million offer for the player, who was linked with the club over the summer.

  The 6’3.5” forward, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but represents Portugal, began his career in Portugal with Vitória Guimarães before having spells in Spain with Salamanca, CD Leganés, Valladolid, Gimnàstic and finally Sevilla, from where he moved to Benfica earlier this year. The 27 year old has also played for French side Nantes and Portuguese outfit Marítimo, and has won four caps for his adopted homeland, his only international goal coming in a 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan in October 2007.

Makukula opens the scoring for Portugal against Kazakhstan

  He enjoyed the most fruitful goalscoring form of his career at Salamanca, finding the net 21 times in 41 appearances. He has failed to live up to this level at Benfica though, scoring just three times in the league for the club so far in eighteen appearances.

  Makukula, who is famed for his prodigious jump, seems to tick all the boxes for a Tony Pulis signing; he’s big, good in the air, and is of African descent. His goalscoring record though, is less than impressive. On the whole, he seems to be a carbon copy of our beloved Mamady Sidibe (with only slightly more goals). Sidbe, as we know, only scores important goals, most recently the winner against West Brom on Saturday. The last seven times he has scored, Stoke have gone on to win the match, and if Makukula is signed, and can produce similar results with the effect of his goalscoring, I will most definitely welcome him to the club.

  Where Makukula would fit into the Stoke side though provides an enigma, with Ricardo Fuller the talisman of the Stoke forward line unlikely to be dropped, and with nobody in world football playing the target man role better than Sidibe, it is likely that Makukula would have to settle for a place on the bench, and I doubt that this level of contribution would merit the reported £4.5 million transfer fee. That being said, he is a Portuguese international striker, so can’t be a bad player, so for a slightly smaller fee, we may be onto a winner.