Middlesbrough boss Garry Monk has played down suggestions that Rudy Gestede could join Leeds United.
Middlesbrough boss Garry Monk has told the Northern Echo that is focusing more on making new signings than losing players, amid speculation linking Rudy Gestede with a move to Leeds United.
Leeds saw star striker Chris Wood leave Elland Road for a big-money move to Burnley on Monday, and having hit 30 goals in all competitions last season, and Thomas Christiansen’s men are now making moves to land replacements.
NEC Nijmegen hitman Jay-Roy Grot joined Leeds earlier today, but the youngster isn’t expected to be the main replacement for Wood given his inexperience, with another striker set to be targeted.
Earlier this week, The Gazette reported that Leeds have failed with a £6million bid for Middlesbrough striker Rudy Gestede, and Boro will not entertain any more offers for the target man.
However, the Yorkshire Evening Post report that Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta – who oversaw the signing of Gestede at Middlesbrough in January – is pushing for a deal, and Leeds may now pursue a second bid for the Benin international.
Gestede, 28, has proven himself as a Championship goalscorer with 33 goals in 66 games for Blackburn in the second tier, as well as four goals in 18 games for Aston Villa last season, before joining Boro.
The giant centre forward, who stands at 6ft 4in tall, seemed to have slipped down the pecking order with Middlesbrough, as manager Garry Monk – who left Leeds earlier this summer – brought in three forwards, Britt Assombalonga, Ashley Fletcher and Martin Braithwaite.
However, Gestede has impressed in the early stages of this season, and Monk has told the Northern Echo that he won’t be addressing speculation of a second bid from Leeds for Gestede, but is focusing on bringing in players rather than losing them, in a possible dent to Leeds’ hopes of signing the striker.
“It’s all speculation, so I don’t really have to answer on it,” said Monk when asked about a new Leeds move for Gestede. “You can see from the performances of all the players that the attitude and commitment to what we’re doing is clearly there.
Those guys are showing that, and we’re focused as a group. It’s more about the couple of positions where we need to strengthen the squad because we’ve had a lot of outgoings and we’ve got a much smaller squad than before. That is by design, but it’s about strengthening in those couple of positions to make sure we have what we need,” he added.
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