Jermaine Beckford admits it’s ‘a bit baffling’ why Leeds didn’t sign ‘available’ £5m Champ hitman

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Leeds United opted to sign Jean Kevin Augustin last month.

Jermaine Beckford has admitted he finds it ‘a bit baffling’ as to why Leeds didn’t sign Nahki Wells last month because he feels he would have been ideal for the club.

Speaking to GameDay Breakfast on TalkSport (15/02/2020 at 8:30 am), Beckford shared that Wells was ‘available’ for transfer and the ‘£5m’ player would have ticked what Leeds were looking for in terms Championship experience and goals scored this season. 

Wells was initially on-loan at Queens Park Rangers from Premier League side Burnley before he cut short his stay in London and made a £5 million switch to Bristol City instead, as reported by BBC Sport.

Given that Leeds were looking for a striker all last month, especially one that could fit in like a glove, Beckford doesn’t understand why his former club didn’t focus their attention on the 29-year-old. 

“If you are a Leeds United number nine, that’s massive pressure in itself,” Beckford told TalkSport. “You know every game you are going to be judged whether you score one, two or three goals, not how many assists you get. That’s been one of the biggest issues this season.

“Talking about forwards. Nahki Wells was available for £5 million. For me, when he was at QPR for the first half of the season, he scored a lot of goals.

“To know somebody was available, with Championship experience on the back of scoring how many ever goals he scored was a little bit baffling to myself as to why they didn’t reach out and try to grab him on board.”

Jean Kevin Augustin was the man brought in by the Yorkshire outfit, as he made a loan switch from French side Monaco – upon signing, he wasn’t selected for Leeds’ matchday squad that faced Wigan because Bielsa felt he needed to get up to speed.

That perhaps will annoy the fans even further because Wells is a player who has experience of the Championship, is up to speed has scored goals, and in terms of quality, he fits the bill. 

Over the course of the season, the versatile attacker has played 33 games in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and supplying his teammates with four assists [transfermarkt].