Leeds United appear to be pressing ahead with their summer transfer plans with an intriguing report emerging from South America this week.
What’s the word?
According to AlAireLibre, Marcelo Bielsa has his eye on an array of players from his home nation, Argentina, and some of its neighbouring countries, including Man City veteran Claudio Bravo and Spurs defender Juan Foyth.
But interestingly, one name mentioned is Stuttgart forward Nicolas Gonzalez.
The Yorkshire giants are already tied down to a £19m obligation to sign Leipzig flop Jean-Kevin Augustin and of course, have Patrick Bamford and Tyler Roberts as options in the striker role.
Valued at just £8.1m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old has enjoyed a very productive season in the second-tier of German football.
The next Diego Maradona
Gonzalez provided 14 goals and three assists, helping fire Stuttgart into the Bundesliga and when delving into deeper numbers, we see the sort of player he is.
The Argentine has played in pretty much every position bar central defence and between the sticks. Per WhoScored, he averaged 2.7 shots, 2.1 dribbles, 1.5 key passes and 0.5 tackles per game.
This is very much the sort of pressing style that Bielsa loves in a striker.
Given he was born in a shantytown in the outskirts of Buenos Aires before going on to start his career at Argentinos Juniors, Gonzalez has drawn comparisons to the legendary Diego Maradona.
The young talisman has also been likened to World Cup winner Mario Kempes by Alfredo Berti due to him being a ‘natural goalscorer’ who can play wide, too.
Gonzalez’ current head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo waxed lyrical about him, claiming “he’s a winner” who “always gives 100 percent and gets stuck in.”
Whether Bielsa can land his man remains to be seen, but he’d certainly be a welcome addition as strength in depth will be vital in the Premier League.
AND in other news, Leeds need to steer clear of a potential £80k-per-week nightmare…