Wishlist for RAAL La Louviere: Potential solutions to the sides goalscoring problems | OneFootball

RAAL La Louviere have had a decent return to the Belgian Pro League. The club one a surprising promotion from the Challenger Pro League last season but appear to be putting infrastructure in place in an attempt to become a mainstay in the top flight. While they had a decent run of results to start the seasons, things have petered out somewhat in recent weeks. The club now find themselves in the bottom four, with an even 20 points from 20 games, of which 12 points were from victories.

Yet, the solution for RAAL appears straightforward. They just need to get more goals into the team. Clearly this is easier said than done, but the club don’t need to look for just one player to solve this issue. Finding someone that can create and score out wide, as well as a reliable striker who could get near to 10 goals in a season could be enough for them to avoid a bottom four finish.

The reason for this is that the club have one of the best defenses in the league. So far, they have the join second best goals conceded per game with 1.1, with eight clean sheets as well. These have been down to some fantastic performances from their goalkeeper Marcos Peano. Keeping the Argentine shot stopper at RAAL will be crucial this January. In comparison, RAAL’s eight clean sheets is one more than title chasing Club Brugge and just one less than defending champions Union St Gilloise.

While RAAL have done well with just 21 goals conceded in 20 games, at the other end they are the leagues worst attack. Even bottom of the table Dender with 16 goals have scored one more than RAAL. Former Seraing striker Pape Moussa Fall has three, while Jerry Afriyie has two. The latter scored both of his goals in one game, which came on the 20 September as RAAL beat OH Leuven 2-1 away from home. If we include the cup victory over Beerschot, Fall has scored six goals in his last six games, a nice return after going goalless up until the 2nd of December. Perhaps he can be the player to provide the 10 goals RAAL likely need from a striker.

If Fall can be the man, RAAL will still need to find goals in other areas. They can rely on their backline and goalkeeper to make the game difficult for other sides, but eventually even they will get tired of seeing little output at the other end of the pitch. If RAAL still have ambitions of becoming a mainstay in the Pro League, this January transfer window may well be a crucial turning point in their season and long term goals.

Who could some of these options be? Within the Pro League, RAAL could turn to Westerlo to see if they could be willing to allow Kyan Vaesen to spend the second half of the season out on loan. The 24-year-old was with Willem II last year and has been having to warm the bench as Nacho Ferri is the preferred starting forward. Vaesen scored six goals in 32 games in the Eredivisie last season, so expectations for what he can bring wouldn’t be too high. However, he has been around the top flight long enough and should feel like he has a point to prove.

Another loan option could be looking at Mickael Biron. The former RWDM forward has yet to score in the 2. Bundesliga and may welcome a return to the Pro League, even if just on loan. A word of caution for RAAL though, Biron appears to struggle anywhere that isn’t RWDM in Belgium. He spent some time with OH Leuven last season and failed to score there.

Perhaps a more difficult one due to wages would be giving Hertha Berlin a call for former OH Leuven man Jon Thorsteinsson. The Icelandic international has never really replicated the form he had in Belgium for the side from the German capital. In his second season with Hertha, Thorsteinsson has at least broken his scoring drought, but with one goal and one assist in a year and a half, it hasn’t been a great move for either player nor club. Compare and contrast this to his time with OH Leuven. Thorsteinsson spent two full seasons in the Belgian Pro League with OH Leuven, where he scored 19 goals and provided 11 assists from midfield in around 73 games. A loan move for Thorsteinsson may be outside of what RAAL can afford, but a player like the former Fulham man who can score from midfield is the type that the club need to target. Too be honest, Thorsteinsson is a player that everyone outside of the top six should be calling Hertha Berlin for.

clearly, the scouting department at RAAL will already be working hard at finding the player that fits their long and short term goals. They just cannot afford to miss out on bringing one or two players in who can help their ailing attack and relieve some pressure on a backline that is certainly doing its job.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson