Leeds United may be in the market for a target man in January.
Leeds United’s season has been going brilliantly so far, and a 2-1 home defeat to Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon surely won’t derail their campaign.
The Whites suffered their first league defeat under Marcelo Bielsa, but remain one of the favourites for promotion back to the Premier League after a lengthy absence.
Many believe that, due to the huge energy needed to play in Bielsa’s style, Leeds will need signings when the transfer window re-opens in January to prevent their players from burning out.
The January transfer window is still some time away, but one link is already becoming persistent, with Turkish-Football reporting that Leeds are scouting Kasimpasa striker Mbaye Diagne having initially opened talks with his agent in the summer.
Diagne’s goal record since signing for Kasimpasa in January is astonishing, as he ended last term with 12 goals in 17 games, before smashing eight goals in his first outings this term.
The Senegal ace is attracting major interest, and the repeated links to Leeds may just suggest that Bielsa is looking to bring in a game-changing target man when the transfer window re-opens.
Current Spurs target man Fernando Llorente hit the big time with Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao, whilst burly Andre-Pierre Gignac became a sensation at Marseille under his tutelage, with big, physical strikers flourishing alongside Bielsa, finding the net on a regular basis.
Diagne – standing at 6ft 3in tall and possessing great strength and aerial ability – certainly fits that bill, and would give Bielsa the ability to change the game from the bench, as he offers something completely different to Kemar Roofe, Patrick Bamford or Tyler Roberts, with a physical presence such as the 26-year-old potentially giving Leeds the edge in tight games in the second half of the season; and whether it’s Diagne or somebody else, Bielsa’s history suggests that a target man may well be a top target come January.
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