On deadline day, it appeared that Sint-Truiden finally found the striker they’ve been looking for all season. The side stumped up the money to bring in the top scorer from the Challenger Pro League, Adriano Bertaccini. It seemed a very obvious fit from the outside, a player who has shown a nose for goal partnering with a team that created a ton of chances but just couldn’t finish them off. Bertaccini leaves RFC Liege with 11 goals in 17 Challenger Pro League games.
Yet as the transfer was being announced, Sint-Truiden were taking apart 10-man Gent, and it was one of their current strikers who was putting his name forward to lead the line. Thorsten Fink has been switching things up in the hopes of finding a goal scorer, eventually landing on 21-year-old Kahveh Zahiroleslam. The striker joined the club from Yale, with very little known about him in European footballing circles. While he was hardly setting the world alight instantly, over the past few games he has begun to find his feet in Belgian football, and the stats back that up.
Over his past four games, the striker has scored four goals, including a well taken double against Gent yesterday evening. Both goals showed he is getting in the right positions. Furthermore, he is clearly understanding how his teammates are creating chances and where he can contribute to that. All four of his goals have come within the six-yard box this season, something that will please both player and manager. Sint-Truiden create so many chances and were just crying out for someone to be on the end of them.
Now, Fink has a dilemma on his hands. Does he stick with the in form Zahiroleslam, or does he go for Bertaccini? Both may work together, but that would mean sacrificing another key player and could hinder the team in the short term. For Fink, it must just be nice to have such a decision to make after having searched all season long for a striker.
