Leeds United reportedly decided against a summer move for Aron Johannsson.
Roman Torres #5 of Panama defends Aron Johannsson #9 of the United States
According to Deich Stube, Leeds United were interested in a move to sign Werder Bremen striker Aron Johannsson over the summer, but were put off by the asking price.
The Whites saw strikers Chris Wood, Souleymane Doukara and Marcus Antonsson leave the club over the summer, meaning manager Thomas Christiansen and director of football Victor Orta had to work hard to bring in new forwards.
Caleb Ekuban, Jay-Roy Grot, Pawel Cibicki and Pierre-Michel Lasogga all arrived from around Europe over the summer, but reports are emerging of Leeds’ interest in another striker.
Deich Stube in Germany report that Leeds wanted Werder Bremen forward Aron Johannsson over the summer, but backed away from a deal due to his €4.5million (£4million) asking price.
Now, Leeds may be pursuing another striker in January having scored just once in their last three Championship games, but they should be wary of targeting Johannsson again for two major reasons.
The 26-year-old United States international has struggled with injuries ever since signing for Werder from AZ Alkmaar in 2015, suffering four considerable lay-offs during his time with the Bundesliga side.
The most major of those, a hip injury suffered in October 2015, caused him to miss almost a year of action, and Leeds were right to be wary of paying such a high price for a player with just 15 first-team appearances in the last two years.
Another factor is Johansson’s goal record. Whilst 39 goals in 81 games for AZ was a strong record, he has mustered just three goals for Werder since his big move, and whilst you can point to injuries causing his lack of sharpness, the flip side of that is that his injuries may mean that he simply isn’t the player he once was – and Leeds should steer clear at this point.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
