Bafetimbi Gomis, Abderrazak Hamdallah or Omar Al Somah - who is the Saudi Professional League's premier striker?

THE STATISTICS

To ensure a fair comparison between the trio, only Wyscout club statistics from August 31, 2018 have been utilised as this is when they all started performing in the same country. Wyscout does not measure the Arab Club Championship.

When it comes to sheer weight of goals, there can only be one winner.

Hamdallah’s 67 strikes in 58 games has transformed expectations about what can be achieved by a single player in Saudi. This tally is vastly superior to Gomis’ 52 goals from 72 games and Al Somah’s 41 goals in 52 games.

This differential is further amplified by a chasmic difference in xG (expected goals). Hamdallah’s 67 strikes has come from an xG of 58.49, meaning he’s netted almost nine more times than reasonable expectation.

Al Somah’s is roughly half Hamdallah’s incredible figure at +3.72 (41/37.28), while Gomis is the only one of the trio to have a negative return on xG (52/53.65).

The Moroccan, though, does not have it all his own way.

Al Somah’s frame and presence has made him the outstanding aerial threat, even though his total headed goals (12) is fewer than Hamdallah’s (13). His headed goals per 90 minutes (0.24), aerial duels per 90’ (5.82) and aerials duels won percentage (43.55) lead the way.

Gomis, furthermore, is the man for accuracy. His 227 shots have been on target 49.34 per cent of time; Hamdallah’s ratio is 285/48.77 per cent and Al Somah’s is 236/42.8 per cent.

The same can also be applied to his hold-up play; 88.68 per cent of Gomis’ final-third passes are accurate, compared to Hamdallah’s 60.48 per cent and Al Somah’s 50 per cent.

Yet, the numbers, inexorably, guide you back to Hamdallah.

He also has the most assists (13), a – staggering – goals-per-90’ ratio of 1.09, has scored the most non-penalty goals (49), taken the most shots (285), best goal conversion percentage (23.5), a dribbles per 90’ figure (5.95) that is more than double his contemporaries (Gomis – 2.11; Al Somah – 2.66) and received the most long passes per 90’ (1.91).

Winner: Hamdallah – The Moroccan is typecast as the ultimate goal poacher. The statistics show he is far more than that.

THE OPPOSITION

To provide context to the trio’s goals from August 30, 2018, we’ve come up with a points system:

Five points: AFC Champions League knockout stage, FIFA Club World Cup goal

Three points: AFC Champions League group stage goal

Two points: Top-flight/King’s Cup goal against the SPL’s established giants (Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli Jeddah and Al Ittihad), Saudi Arabian Super Cup

One point: Goal against all other SPL opposition, King’s Cup

Hamdallah: 91 points

Gomis: 108 points

Al Somah: 66 points

Winner: Gomis – Hilal’s triumph in the 2019 AFC Champions League, and subsequent berth at the Club World Cup, tipped the scores in the Frenchman’s favour.

BACKGROUNDS

Gomis

Gomis arrived amid the wave of big-name – and big-money – additions to the Kingdom in August 2018.

He’s, quite simply, grown into an idol.

This €6 million fee brought Hilal a player who’d recorded 29 times in 33 matches when Galatasaray stormed to Turkey’s Super Lig crown. It also got them a centre forward with 12 caps for France, plus experience of starring in France (Saint-Etienne, Troyes, Lyon and Marseille) and the Premier League (Swansea City).

Gomis has rocketed in more than 60 goals for his current employers, scored in the 2019 AFC Champions League finals and become a ‘gahwa’ (Arabic coffee) connoisseur.

Hamdallah

Hamdallah was in a class of his own last year.

The 57 goals registered across all competitions for Nassr made him 2019’s global top scorer, three ahead of Bayern Munich and Poland megastar Robert Lewandowski. A tally of 34 efforts in 26 SPL matches handed Nassr the title and also made him the division’s all-time top scorer in a single season.

Some return, then, on August 2018’s free transfer from Al Rayyan.

Hamdallah has confounded serious injuries and a tense relationship with the Morocco national team to become one of Asian football’s greatest-ever strikers. In China (Guangzhou R&F), Qatar (El Jaish, Rayyan) and now Saudi Arabia a flood of goals has followed him.

Al Somah

A nickname can say a lot about a player – statuesque Al Somah’s is the ‘Syrian Ibrahimovic’.

His combination of imposing height, rare athleticism, eye for the spectacular and ruthless proficiency in front of goal has made him a standout player in Saudi since July 2014’s smart pick-up from Kuwait’s Al Qadsiah.

Al Somah was the competition’s top scorer from 2014-17, while he’s maintained this lethality in 2019/20 despite Ahli’s turmoil off the pitch and a shoulder problem.

Winner: Score draw – All three strikers have enjoyed enviable careers. Gomis played for the most-exalted clubs, yet it would be football snobbery to discount the achievements of Hamdallah and Al Somah in Asia.

CONCLUSION

For all Al Somah’s qualities, there is greater nuance to his game, when it comes to selecting a premium SPL predator, the debate now centres on Gomis and Hamdallah.

The former was in a class of his own during 2019, while Gomis’ exploits in grandstand matches were notable.

The Frenchman also arrived in the Kingdom to greater fanfare. Yet the cold numbers point to the fact he’s been shaded by a less-heralded rival from the yellow half of Riyadh.

Hamdallah bosses most barometers and his points tally was, largely, pegged back because of Nassr’s inability to go beyond the Asian quarter-finals. It is also remarkable how he’s belied a reputation as a pure finisher to exhibit depth to his play, as shown in leading the way for assists and dribbles per 90 minutes.

Saudi football is fortunate to boast all three centre forwards. Nassr can, just about, be the most content with Hamdallah in their ranks.