Steve Evans said Leeds would have signed £9m Rhodes in promotion position, so is now the time?

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Should Leeds splash out on Jordan Rhodes, as Steve Evans suggested they would have done last year if they were in promotion contention?

One year ago Leeds United head coach at the time Steve Evans bemoaned Middlesbrough’s big signing of Jordan Rhodes.

The Scottish striker had left Blackburn to sign with ‘Boro in a £9 million move (Gazette Live), which helped the club seal promotion to the Premier League.

Evans boldly stated that if Leeds United had been in Middlesbrough’s position, they would have been the club making a play for the striker.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “People will roll their eyes when they hear me say this but if we’d been in Middlesbrough’s position in the league, do I think we’d have signed Jordan Rhodes?

“I believe we would have done. I believe we’ll get to that point. But I know that saying it and doing it are two different things.”

Leeds manager Steve Evans

Evans may be long gone, but Leeds are right in the play-off mix, sitting fifth in table having sat inside the top six all December so far.

Leeds did not spend even above a million pounds last January, with owner Massimo Cellino taking the pragmatic approach that there was nothing to play for, with the side sitting in mid-table, and perhaps well aware that he did not see Evans as anything more than a stop gap solution in charge.

Cellino spent money this summer after appointing Garry Monk, although received funds from selling Lewis Cook too, but if Evans’ comments ring true, then this coming month is the time for Leeds to splash out.

Middlesbrough’s Jordan Rhodes in action with Brighton’s Connor Goldson

Talk continues of investment from Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani, but even without this, Cellino may be plotting for a big push.

With a suspension looming from the Football League in February pending appeal, this transfer window could be his last one, and having never been in this position in the league before, this could be the owner’s final opportunity to see through his goal of getting Leeds to the Premier League.

By a stroke of coincidence, prolific striker Jordan Rhodes may be available after being surplus to requirements at Middlesbrough since their promotion, and next month we will get to see just how ambitious Leeds are, and whether Evans was right all along.