Championship giants Leeds United have failed to lure Norwegian youngster Abdul-Basit Agouda to Elland Road with the teenager staying in the Eliteserien.
There were plenty of reasons for Leeds United fans to be excited about the potential addition of Abdul-Basit Agouda.
The 18-year-old striker may have featured just once in Norway’s top flight last season for Stromsgodset, but it was telling just how highly he was rated in the Scandinavian country.
Norwegian football expert Jonas Giaever talked to Leeds Live back in November and stated that Agouda, who models almost every facet of his game on former Barcelona and Inter Milan superstar Samuel Eto’o, ‘has been hailed as a bit of a complete striker’.
But one of the most promising young talents in Scandinavian football has now slipped through Leeds’ grasp.
Because, just two days after the The Mirror (7th January, page 20) stated that Leeds were closing in on Agouda, Dagbladet states that he has now signed a three-year contract with Stromsgodset’s Eliteserien rivals Stabaek. With his deal expiring at his previous club, his new employers did not have to spend a penny tying Agouda down until 2021.
“The most important thing for me now is to get playing time,” the teenager, who has scored 19 goals in 52 games for Norway’s youth sides, told Dagbladet.
“Stabæk have shown that they bet on young players and give them playing time. Therefore, this is a good step for me.”
Leeds, however, could argue that they too are not scared of putting trust in young players.
Sam Byram, Lewis Cook and Ronaldo Vieira have all emerged from a prosperous academy in recent years, while Leeds brought in a number of hugely talented youngsters this summer, from Adrian Balboa to former Barcelona wonder-kid Kun Temenuzhkov.
Time will tell whether Agouda proves to be one that got away.
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