Leeds United decided against a bid for Norwich City’s Nelson Oliveira in the summer but there is interest from Championship rivals Fulham and Derby County.
Derby County’s £8 million bid for Nelson Oliveira has certainly caused ripples in the Championship.
According to the Sun, Fulham are also interested in the Norwich City striker and could be sparked into life after the Rams started the bidding. And with the Canaries willing to do business with their parachute payments set to end in the summer, there is a very real chance that Oliveira will not be wearing yellow come February.
But with Leeds United still in need of a new striker after failing to replace Chris Wood adequately in the summer, news of interest from Derby and Fulham should set the wheels in motion at Elland Road.
And it is fair to say Leeds may regret not turning their interest into something more substantial with Pawel Cibicki, Caleb Ekuban and Jay-Roy Grot failing to notch a league goal between them all season.
Leeds have one of the Championship’s most sturdy defences but stand as the lowest scorers in the Championship’s top eight; a group of teams which includes both Derby County and Fulham.
So if Leeds want to stay in the promotion picture this time around and avoid falling further behind Derby and co, they simply must throw their hat into the ring with Oliveira likely to start a bidding war.
The question, however, is whether owner Andrea Radrizzani is willing to put his hand in his pocket. At £8 million, Oliviera would be Leeds’ most expensive signing since Robbie Fowler in 2001 and the fee is only likely to increase in the coming days.
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