Leeds United have submitted a £7 million bid for PSV Eindhoven’s Germany international Philipp Max as the Premier League side step up their pursuit of a new left-back, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
It would felt been naïve in the extreme had Leeds decided to go into the 2022/23 campaign with Junior Firpo as their only senior left-back. The former Barcelona benchwarmer found fitness and form hard to come by during his debut season at Elland Road after all.
And FIrpo’s latest injury – a hip problem that could keep him out for two months – at least appears to have reminded Leeds about the need for defensive cover on the left-hand flank. Every cloud, as they say.
Not that you can really describe Max as a ‘defender’. The former Augsburg man is one of Europe’s most underrated attacking full-backs.
Max, during two seasons in the Eredivisie, has continued to provide sterling service from out wide; The variety and the quality of his deliveries producing goalscoring chances by the bucketload, whether via open play or set-pieces.
Did we mention that only Thomas Muller produced more assists than Max during the 2017/18 Bundesliga season? The one-time Bayern Munich youngster, who has three caps for the German national team, finished ahead of James Rodriguez, Joshua Kimmich and Kai Havertz after setting up 12 goals for his Augsburg team-mates.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were linked with an £18 million swoop around that time, via Sport.
Could Philipp Max replace Junior Firpo at Leeds United?
Now, according to TMW, Leeds are hoping to reunite Robin Koch with his Rhine-born compatriot in West Yorkshire. Leeds have submitted a £7 million bid; One PSV may be tempted to accept. Max was in and out of the team for spells last season after all. Mauro Junior and Phillip Mwene are competing for a starting berth.
“I think everyone expected that I would continue on the same footing as last year,” Max told ED, admitting last term that his form had taken a dip.
“But football cannot always be predicted in advance. Sometimes people may expect a little too much. You just have good and less good phases.”
Form, as they say, is merely temporary of course.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
