Championship giants Leeds United made an unsuccessful £500,000 bid to sign Josh Windass from Scottish Premiership giants Rangers last month.
Leeds United have scored seven goals in their last five games.
But Josh Windass, the red-hot Rangers midfielder who was the subject of a £500,000 bid from Leeds in the January transfer window according to the Daily Record, has scored more than that himself.
The 24-year-old hit a hat-trick for the second time in the last three weeks as Rangers sealed a thrilling 5-3 win away at Hamilton Academical at the weekend. This, coupled with a double against Ayr in the Scottish Cup and one neatly taken finish against Partick in the league, means Windass has hit the net nine times in his last five outings.
He would perhaps have been the closest thing Leeds boss Paul Heckingbottom could have had to a new Conor Hourihane at Elland Road, then.
In total, Windass has 15 in 31 games all season, an outstanding record that is just two away from equalling his all-time best, set during the 2015/16 season when he was turning heads at Accrington Stanley. So it is fair to say Windass, son of legendary hit-man Dean, is showing Leeds what they could have had.
And Heckingbottom will surely be wishing he could rely on a player of Windass’s Frank Lampard-esque goal-scoring ability as he aims to make this Leeds team his own.
Heckingbottom’s Barnsley side thrived in the last two seasons thanks largely to the talismanic performances of Hourihane in central midfield. The Irish international won games on his own at times, with his fantastic range of shooting and ability to finish with class and composure from anywhere near the box.
There is no player in Leeds’ squad capable of fulfilling that Hourihane role, but Windass could have been the man to give Heckingbottom a completely different dimension in the final third.
It is understood that Leeds did not raise their initial £500,000 offer and now Windass has signed a new contract. This, coupled with his ongoing hot-streak, means that the Whites would have to pay far more if they wanted to sign him in the summer with his value more than likely rising to a seven-figure sum.
The likelihood, however, is that Leeds have missed their chance, and Heckingbottom will not get his Leeds alternative to the impressive Hourihane.
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