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Forget Championship veterans, Leeds United target Caleb Ekuban has bags of potential

Leeds fans (Reuters)
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Few Leeds United fans will have heard of Caleb Ekuban but he could be an inspired addition at Elland Road.

Leeds United's Kyle Bartley and Leeds United's Luke Ayling (R) look dejectedLeeds United threw away their chance of promotion

On reflection, Leeds United’s failure to reinforce their goalscoring ranks in January looks a little foolish now.

After all, The Yorkshire giants missed out on the Play-Offs after a dramatic late-season collapse, losing three games in April without scoring a single goal. While Chris Wood siezed the Championship Golden Boot with 27 goals, the fact that Leeds’ joint second highest goalscorer was centre-back Kyle Bartley on just six speaks volumes.

Therefore, it appears that Leeds have at least learned from their mistake. According to GhanaSoccerNet, The Whites will attempt to take the pressure of the talismanic Wood by giving prolific 23-year-old Caleb Ekuban his chance in English football.

Leeds fansLeeds fans are crying out for another striker

The report claims that Leeds have already made an offer for the striker, with Cypriot giants APOEL Nicosia set to make an offer of just over £350,000 in the near future.

Now, the Italian-born youngster is hardly a household name. And the fact that the Chievo-owned forward comes from the same country as Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani may incur a little deja vu.

After all, madcap predecessor Massimo Cellino brought huge numbers of unknown imports from his homeland, only for the majority to range from the anonymous to the abysmal.

Leeds United Chairman Massimo CellinoCellino’s Italian imports largely proved disastrous

One-in-two ratio

However, Ekuban has demonstrated his potential by firing in 15 goals in just 30 games on loan at Partizani Tirana in the Albanian Superliga, helping the newly promoted side finish just three points off the top of the table.

Furthermore, at the age of just 23, Ekuban clearly has plenty of time for improvement. Which cannot be said for a number of strikers linked with Leeds in January from veteran David Nugent to out-of-form Lewis Grabban and Leonardo Ulloa.

Middlesbrough's David Nugent shoutsNugent was one of the veterans linked with Leeds

The trio may have bags of Championship experience but their best years appear to lie behind them. Ekuban, however, is on the up and has potential by the bucketload.

Did we mention he could cost less than £1 million?