AZ Alkmaar striker Vangelis Pavlidis has embarked on a remarkable goalscoring streak that places him on the precipice of Eredivisie history.
The Greek international has achieved an exceptional feat by scoring in each of his league appearances, becoming the first player in Alkmaar’s history to score in eight consecutive Eredivisie fixtures.
His achievement has earned him a place among a select few in the division’s history, emerging as only the fourth player to hit the back of the net in each of the first eight games of a season.
Pavlidis’ eye-catching scoring streak places him in a similar category as the legendary Johan Cruyff, who holds the all-time record after netting in nine consecutive games at the start of the 1966/67 season.
In retrospect, Cruyff’s record was even more extraordinary, considering his scoring run extended to an astonishing 14 games, which could prove a near-insurmountable challenge for the free-scoring Pavlidis.
However, the Alkmaar man’s underlying statistics suggest he is not just riding a lucky streak and could at least match Cruyff’s record of scoring in nine fixtures on the trot.
The 24-year-old leads the way across Europe’s top seven divisions with an incredible 20 shots on target. Furthermore, his ten league goals are surpassed by VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy (13) and Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez (12).
Gimenez has turned the heads of several European heavyweights and is being closely monitored by several clubs in the Premier League after his stellar start to the season with the reigning Dutch champions.
If Pavlidis continues his goalscoring trajectory, he is also poised to attract similar attention from the English top flight, especially after being linked with a move to Leeds United and Aston Villa in recent months.
However, if history is anything to go by, a remarkable Eredivisie record is hardly a yardstick by which the possibility of Premier League success can be measured.
Can Pavlidis thrive in the Premier League?
This isn’t the first time a goalscoring prodigy from Alkmaar has been linked with a move to England, and what became of the previous two may be enough indication for Premier League clubs to steer clear of Pavlidis.
Vincent Janssen and Alireza Jahanbakhsh both made waves in the Eredivisie with their goalscoring abilities before moving to the English top flight, joining Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Janssen scored 27 goals in 34 league games before joining Tottenham but only managed to find the back of the net twice in 31 Premier League appearances, and six times in 42 matches across all competitions.
Jahanbakhsh was also a standout performer for Alkmaar in the 2017/18 campaign, directly involved in more goals (33) than any other player during the campaign.
However, the Iranian struggled to replicate his Eredivisie success after moving to Brighton the following season, failing to register a goal contribution in 19 Premier League fixtures.
The highlight of Jahanbakhsh’s Premier League career was a stunning overhead kick equalizer against Chelsea in January 2020, which earned him the Goal of the Month award.
Pavlidis may have taken the Dutch top flight by storm this season, but the Premier League presents a higher level of competition than the Eredivisie.
There is a substantial likelihood that the Greek hitman could face challenges adapting to life in the Premier League, but there is also a chance he could prove doubters wrong.
