According to Tuttomercatoweb, ex-Leeds United attacker Caleb Ekuban is now wanted by Sampdoria – and it could actually benefit the Whites.
Remember Ekuban? He was one of the first signings of the Victor Orta era at Leeds, joining from Chievo Verona having excelled in Albania with Partizani Tirana.
The Ghanaian attacker struggled to make any sort of impact at Elland Road, and lasted just one season with the club as he was farmed out following Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival.
When Bielsa came in 2018, Ekuban was sent on loan to Trabzonspor, and they saw enough to make his move permanent in the summer of 2019.
Ekuban has notched 25 goals in 90 games for Trabzonspor, and having been born in Italy, he’s now being targeted for a return there.
It’s suggested that Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria want to sign Ekuban, but they’re far from the only Serie A side pushing to sign the 27-year-old this summer.
You may wonder just how Leeds can benefit from this move, and whilst they may well have a sell-on clause as part of the deal with Trabzonspor, that’s not the reason.
Ekuban has mostly been playing as a winger this season rather than a striker, operating on either flank – and that could appeal to Samp given fears over Mikkel Damsgaard’s future.
The Daily Star claimed in February that Leeds are looking towards Damsgaard as a potential signing this summer, with Marcelo Bielsa keen to bring in another winger.
The Dane has excelled in Italy, and Leeds are now hovering. He won’t come cheap, but Samp may already be looking at potential replacements, with Ekuban wanted.
Ekuban heading to Samp, possibly landing Leeds a cut of the free and helping their chances of signing Damsgaard? That genuinely may be as useful as Ekuban has ever been for Leeds.
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