Port Vale are reportedly in talks to complete a deal for York City striker Ollie Pearce before the transfer deadline.
The 30-year-old striker finished last season as the National League’s top scorer. His 31 goals throughout the season helped the Minstermen reach the play-off semi finals last season.
How have Port Vale fared this season?
The Vale won promotion back to League One at the first time of asking last season but have struggled back in the third tier. Darren Moore’s side currently sit 23rd in League One and have picked up two points from their opening six games.
They opened the season with a 2-1 defeat away to Rotherham United. The following week they picked up their first point of the season with a 0-0 draw at home to Cardiff City.
One draw and three defeats followed in their next four games with all three defeats coming by a margin of one goal. Despite their lowly league position, they will be encouraged by their form in the EFL Cup.
The Valiants have won successive away games 1-0 away to Blackpool and Birmingham City. Their impressive results have seen them draw Premier League giants Arsenal in the next round.
Despite this, the League One side are in need of some firepower up front. In order to do this, they have reportedly turned their attention to the National League’s top scorer, Ollie Pearce.
Who is Ollie Pearce?
Pearce has spent the entirety of his career in non-league. After a number of seasons with Bognor Regis Town, he made the move to Worthing in 2018.
With the Rebels, the 30-year-old bagged 155 goals in 245 appearances including 46 goals in the 2023-24 season. His prolific goalscoring ability led to him joining his former manager Adam Hinchelwood at York in 2024.
Last season, he continued his impressive goalscoring ability with 31 goals in the National League. His goals helped the Minstermen to second place in the division and a play-off place.
At the age of 30, Pearce may believe that he has to take his chance in the EFL when it comes. With this in mind, the reported interest from Port Vale could be a good move for him to showcase his ability in the football league.
Why should Port Vale sign Ollie Pearce?
Scoring goals is where Vale have struggled with significantly so far this season. Moore’s side currently rank joint 24th for goals scored per match at an average of 0.3 per game.
On top of this, Port Vale have struggled significantly with their conversion of chances. They currently rank joint fourth in the third tier for big chances missed with ten in total.
The Staffordshire side are significantly under-performing their expected goals (xG) figure as well. Their chances created have totalled an xG figure of 6.8 which they have under-performed by 4.8.
This is where Pearce could benefit them having scored 31 goals for York last season. Pearce scored at an average of 0.7 goals per game with a scoring frequency of a goal every 136 minutes.
The goals he scored came against the better sides in the division with goals against three (Barnet, Rochdale and Oldham Athletic) of the top five in the division. The 30-year-old consistently tested opposition goalkeepers as well, having an average of 2.4 shots per game.
With the departure of last season’s top scorer, Lorent Tolaj, there is a need for these goals to be replaced. Signing a striker who has scored goals consistently across his career may support the Valiants in their aim to increase their goalscoring output.
