After seeing a bid for Middlesbrough’s Rudy Gestede turned down, reports claim Leeds United have turned their attention towards Nelson Oliveira.
NEC Nijmegen striker Jay-Roy Grot completed his move to Leeds United on Thursday but, as a 19-year-old arriving from the Dutch second division, it’s highly unlikely that he will be the only new forward moving at Elland Road before next week’s transfer deadline.
Leeds are still in need of a replacement for Chris Wood after all and with Middlesbrough playing hardball over Rudy Gestede, rejecting a bid of £6 million according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, it makes sense for the Yorkshire giants to have one or two replacements in mind.
And the YEP claim that Norwich City frontman Nelson Oliveira is one of the names in the frame to fill the void left by Wood, whose 27 Championship goals last season earned him a chance in the Premier League with Burnley.
The report states: “United are extremely short of striker options following Chris Wood’s £15m switch to Burnley and the Whites have already seen one bid of £6m for 28-year-old Gestede rejected. Preston North End’s Jordan Hugill or Norwich City’s Nelson Oliveira could be viable alternatives.”
Olveira spent loan spells at Swansea City and Nottingham Forest from Benfica but signed for Norwich permanently last summer for a fee of around £5 million, as reported by the Nottingham Post.
A tally of 11 goals in 28 appearances in his debut season at Carrow Road represented a decent return for the Portugal international but he has been tipped to move on again this summer.
The Sun (page 15 of Monday’s Goals pull-out) claimed that Wolves were interested in signing Oliveira, who’s agent Jorge Mendes plays an influential role in transfer strategy at Molineux.
However, the report added that Oliveira’s wages were too steep for Wolves’ budget, despite the ambitious Midlanders spending huge sums on the likes of Ruben Neves this summer.
Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Leeds would be willing to meet the striker’s demands. The YEP’s report suggests that Oliveira is merely an option for Leeds rather than a first-choice target and you wonder this is down to finances – although the club are £15 million richer following Wood’s exit.
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