Leeds United have just been told no by Lecce striker Nikola Krstovic, in a week that’s proved very difficult for the Whites in the summer transfer market.
Things haven’t gone Leeds United’s way in the transfer market of late. Whilst the club has completed the signing of Sebastiaan Bornauw from Wolfsburg, they’ve also watched on as a handful of their transfer targets join Sunderland.
Sunderland are signing four of Leeds United’s transfer targets this summer: they’ve already completed a deal for Habib Diarra, having agreed deals to sign Djordje Petrovic, Reinildo Mandava, and Noah Sadiki per reports. All were wanted by Leeds.
Daniel Farke then seems to be back at square one. So far this summer, three new players have arrived at Elland Road but there’s much more needed before Leeds can consider themselves competitive ahead of the Premier League season.
And despite the signing of Lukas Nmecha, Farke needs more strikers. He needs someone with Premier League quality and experience, and that someone could prove to be Evan Ferguson, who former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi previously described as a ‘special striker’.
West Ham United striker Evan Ferguson warming up before a game.
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Leeds United could sign Evan Ferguson for a cut-price fee
Recent reports revealed how Lecce striker Nikola Krstovic isn’t keen on joining Leeds United this summer. The Whites were understood to be weighing up a move for the £30million-rated Montenegrin but he prefers to stay in Italy, and joining a club higher up the Serie A standings.
Ferguson is another who’s been linked with Leeds this summer. Previous reports revealed how Ferguson was on Leeds United’s three-striker shortlist having fallen out of favour at Brighton, and having flopped on loan at West Ham in the second half of last season.
The Irish Times are now reporting that Brighton will sell the Republic of Ireland international for just £28million this summer. It marks a staggering 72% drop from the £100million price tag that was slapped on his head a few years ago, when the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich were being linked.
Stat (Prem.) Ferguson’s career so far
Games 68
Goals 13
Assists 3
Mins PG 210
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Who are the other strikers on Leeds United’s three-man shortlist?
It seems as though Farke wants to sign at least one striker with proven credibility in the top flight. On his apparent three-man shortlist is Ferguson, Callum Wilson, and Jamie Vardy.
Wilson has been in headlines recently: Newcastle United removed Wilson from the club website, suggesting that he’d been released, before then re-adding him once fans discovered this.
Vardy meanwhile remains a free agent. It appears as though he’s weighing up his options after leaving Leicester City and Leeds United have been quite strongly linked with Vardy, though it’s a potential move that’s really split opinion among the Leeds faithful.
Ferguson could be the best option out of three given the fact that he’s still only 20 years old, and he’s still got bags of potential. But he’s not been the same since injuries in the last year or so and so it could be a very expensive gamble for the Whites.