Bob Bradley will wish he had a goalscorer of Gomis’ ilk at the Liberty Stadium right about now.
Bafetimbi Gomis had hit double figures in the league for eight seasons in a row before signing for Swansea City in 2014.
And you don’t need a calculator on hand to realise the former Lyon striker didn’t quite produce the same prolific form in South Wales, with his lifeless performances and galling lack of composure the abiding memory of his two season stay in the Premier League. A two season stay that produced just 13 goals.
And, typically, his departure in the summer has brought about an immediate return to form. His well taken strike in Marseille’s 2-0 win against Lille on Sunday was his ninth in 17 Ligue 1 appearances and his third in three.
Meanwhile, Bob Bradley’s free-falling Swansea could only dream of a goalscorer with such impeccable timing. Fernando Llorente has found the net just five times in the Premier League and Borja Baston just the once. Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Middlesbrough only highlighted an attack as timid as the side’s defence.
True, Bradley’s side are hardly playing to their striker’s strengths, failing to produce from deeper positions and struggling to find the target with their crosses from wide. Llorente has proven, on intermittent occasions, that the right type of service, namely hung up deliveries and accurate set pieces, represent the side’s most reliable source of goals.
Yet, that does not make it any easier to swallow for Swansea fans, with the striker they let go on loan in the summer scoring more goals than their current centre-forward pairing put together.
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