Ian Wright urges Leeds to sign ‘perfect’ £10m hitman, warns them about £19m reported target

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Leeds United are searching for a striker this month following the departure of Eddie Nketiah.

Ian Wright has claimed that Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle would be the ‘perfect’ answer to Leeds United’s forward problems but he raised doubt over Andre Gray.

The BBC Sport pundit stated that he is unsure whether Gray, who has struggled since his £19 million move to Watford [BBC Sport], would be able to deliver the goods for a Leeds side who currently have only one senior striker on their books.

Eddie Nketiah, who was persuaded by Wright to join Leeds on a season-long loan in the summer, returned to Arsenal this month because of a lack of game time which disrupted Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion charge.

Speaking to The Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live (20/01/20 at 8:15 pm), Wright shared who he thinks Leeds should target this month, but he made it clear that Gray isn’t the man for Bielsa.

“Whether it would be someone like Andre Gray. Would he be the one?” Wright questioned on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Sometimes I have seen some of his finishing. I think going to a place like Leeds and them needing someone to come in who is going to be a goalscorer to finish maybe one chance. Maybe he could be that guy.

“I know he has scored a lot of goals at Burnley [but] he hasn’t been so prolific at Watford. I don’t know if Andre would be the answer. I would love him to be. I’m not sure he would be the one.

“Dwight Gayle would be perfect for Leeds.”

It does seem as though that the above duo are on Leeds’ radar because Leeds Live did previously report that the Yorkshire outfit have contacted Newcastle over a potential move for Gayle.

But given Newcastle’s injury problems, and the fact that Mike Ashley doesn’t exactly splash the cash whenever something is needed, Gayle, who joined the North East club in 2016 for £10 million [BBC Sport], leaving St James’ Park during this transfer window would be a surprise and pretty unlikely.

However, just because one target seems to be standing in the far distance, a potential move for Gray could be more likely with Leeds keen to bring him in this month, as reported by The London Evening Standard.

Gray is a back-up option at Vicarage Road and he isn’t exactly a key player for the club, nor a regular. All of which fall in Leeds’ favour, it’s just a case of the club pushing the button.