Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa appears to be close to signing his first striker at Elland Road, with Patrick Bamford on the verge of joining.
Leeds had gone into this transfer window with Bamford off their radar, but he became a name on their wishlist as bids for other targets failed.
Leeds made moves to sign Matej Vydra and Abel Hernandez, but failed to get a deal for either over the line.
The Whites’ scouting team then decided that Bamford could be a good option from Middlesbrough.
Bamford reportedly impressed Leeds scouts from three key areas in their data.
The 24-year-old’s goals-to-minutes ratio was highlighted, alongside the value of these goals – with Bamford hitting a number of winning strikes – and he was also noted for how many times he netted from open play.
Bamford scored 10 goals for Boro last season, despite rarely being handed a regular run of starts.
And Leeds are now hoping to have a deal for the striker closed sooner rather than later.
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