Colin Sheridan: English football, especially at top level, is brutal on forwards

On paper, Evan Ferguson has much of what Raúl Jiménez has: size, strength, a good football brain. What he may lack — for now — is the maturity, or perhaps the humility, to subordinate his own instincts for the sake of the team.

Evan Ferguson of AS Roma arrives at the stadium prior to the UEFA Europa League match between Celtic FC and AS Roma. Pic: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

BEFORE Fulham kicked a ball at Manchester United on Sunday, their Mexican forward Raúl Jiménez had played all but one of their 23 league games this season and scored a rather modest five goals. That’s about 0.22 goals per game, or one goal every four-and-a-half matches. 

In his best ever Premier League season, with Wolves in 2020, he played every game and scored 17 times. In the six seasons since, he has reached double figures just once. For Mexico, meanwhile, Jiménez has earned 123 caps and scored a very respectable 44 goals.