After failing to sign James from Championship rivals Swansea City, Leeds United have turned their attention to Motherwell’s Jake Hastie.
Motherwell winger Jake Hastie has admitted that he models his game on Gareth Bale, while speaking to the BBC. And you can tell.
An explosive winger who loves to cut inside onto his hammer of a left foot, Hastie has scored five goals in nine Scottish Premiership games since returning to Fir Park in January following a loan spell at Alloa Athletic.
Many of those strikes have been spectacular, thumped into the top corner in the style of Real Madrid’s number 11.
With his contract expiring in the summer, it is no wonder clubs from north and south of the border are queuing up. One of those, according to the Daily Record, is Leeds United, who apparently scouted Hastie as he scored a 25-yard wonder goal during Motherwell’s recent 2-1 win against St Mirren.
If Leeds win the race, beating off competition from Sunderland, West Brom and co, they will be signing a winger with the potential to be even better than their one-that-got-away.
The Whites were on the verge of signing Daniel James for around £10 million on the final day of the January transfer window. The speedy Welshman even underwent a medical and agreed personal terms before Swansea City backed out of the deal, the Telegraph claims.
But, while James has caught the eye in the Championship, Hastie looks like the sort of elite talent that doesn’t come around too often.
Whether he is really Scotland’s answer to Gareth Bale remains to be seen, but he is a player who could make everyone at Elland Road forget about James.
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