da poker： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
da fazobetai： It may not be the most exotic name, but it could be just what Leeds have been looking for.
What’s the story?
According to a report in Le Buteur, Leeds are one of three teams that are chasing the signature of Algerian forward Baghdad Bounedjah.
The 27-year-old currently plays for Al-Sadd in the Qatari Stars League and boasts an impressive tally of 97 goals in 78 appearances for the side.
Whilst a record like that should always be taken with a pinch of salt because of the level of competition, you have to at least give him credit for knowing where the goal is.
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The ultimate risk?
One of the main reasons that there hasn’t been much headway in negotiations is that Leeds, and the other clubs involved, seem rather hesitant on paying the asking price of €15m (£12.9m) for the player’s services.
It is always possible that the fee can be negotiated down but even at something slightly lower, it would pose a significant risk for Leeds to take. They showed their hand in how tight the purse strings are this summer by not paying a fee for any of their players this summer just gone.
With reports circulating that Eddie Nketiah could be recalled by Arsenal in the January transfer window, this move could very well be a case of killing two birds with one stone.
Marcelo Bielsa gets a player to backup or rotate with Patrick Bamford, and they don’t have to worry about a parent club breathing down their neck worried about a lack of minutes.
It’s well known that Leeds have had troubles this year when it comes to finding the back of the net, scoring just 15 goals from a total of 16.6 shots per game, via WhoScored.
As mentioned earlier, it’s not the most prestigious of leagues to be scoring in, but even if he produces at 50% the rate that he did in that league, Leeds could find the answer to their biggest problem this season.
The question is though, are they willing to fork out the money required to do so? Given the fee and the league he has been playing in, it would be a big risk.