Leeds United have seemingly made it a priority to improve their defensive options in the first phase of the summer transfer window ahead of their return to the Premier League.
The Championship champions only conceded 30 goals in their 46 matches in the second tier last season, but that has not stopped them from wanting to improve their backline.
Bijol-Slovenia-Euro-2024
Daniel Farke has swooped to bring in Jaka Bijol from Udinese and Sebastiaan Bornauw from Wolfsburg to add to his centre-back options, with Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, and Ethan Ampadu already in the building.
The German head coach has also moved quickly to replace Junior Firpo, who officially left the club at the start of this month, by signing Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille.
Leeds have reportedly paid a fee of £10m to sign the Sweden international from the Ligue 1 outfit, and he is now in place well ahead of the season opener against Everton at Elland Road.
What Gabriel Gudmundsson could bring to Leeds
One of the main reasons why this appears to be such a sensible signing for Leeds is Gudmundsson's readiness to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
At the age of 26, the Swedish star is in the prime years of his career and is not a young player with a lot to learn, or a veteran who is past his best and struggling physically.
Darwin Nunez in action with Lille's Gabriel Gudmundsson
He also has 103 appearances in Ligue 1 for Lille and 15 caps for Sweden, which means that he is experienced at the top level and knows what it takes to play in a major European league, and for his country against the best of the best.
This suggests that Gudmundsson has the experience and quality to slot straight into the team as Firpo's replacement for the Premier League season.
However, despite scoring two goals in Ligue 1 last term, the £10m-rated full-back may not offer much to the team as a creative threat down the left flank for Farke.
24/25 Ligue 1 Gabriel Gudmundsson
Appearances 30
Starts 20
xG 0.73
Goals 2
Big chances created 1
xA 1.97
Key passes per game 0.5
Assists 0
Dribble success rate 44%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Gudmundsson did not offer a big threat at the top end of the pitch from a left-back position for Lille in the French top-flight, with one chance created every other game on average and zero assists in 30 games.
gabriel-gudmundsson-lille
The solid full-back, who won 54% of his duels in the division, is not a Firpo like-for-like who is going to replicate the four goals and ten assists that the former Barcelona man delivered in the Championship last season.
That may be why Leeds are also reportedly interested in another left-sided option who could be a dream for Gudmundsson in the team next term.
According to Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs in the race to sign Slavia Prague left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf this summer.
The reporter claims that Serie A side Atalanta are weighing up a move for the Senegal international, who would take up the last non-EU slot that they have available in their squad.
Longari adds that Premier League teams West Ham United and Leeds are also in the race, as they have been keeping tabs on the left-footed star for some time.
It has previously been reported that Slavia Prague are looking for a final fee that is close to £22m (£21.6m) in order to allow the 20-year-old talent to move away from Czechia before the summer transfer window slams shut.
el-hadji-malick-diouf-senegal-international-friendly
However, it now remains to be seen whether Atalanta, West Ham, or Leeds are prepared to spend that kind of money to snap him up in the coming weeks.
Why Diouf would be a dream for Gudmundsson at Leeds
If the Championship champions are able to win the race for Diouf's signature this summer, the 20-year-old talent would be a dream signing for Gudmundsson at Elland Road.
The Senegal international has played as a left-back, a left wing-back, and as a left winger in his short career to date, which shows that he can operate in pretty much any role down the left flank.
el-hadji-malick-diouf-slavia-prague
This suggests that Farke could deploy him ahead of Gudmundsson as a winger, in order to provide the attacking quality that the Swedish ace lacks, but without weakening the defensive structure of the team.
Diouf could operate as a back-up left-back to the Sweden international as well, given that it is his natural position for his national team, but his attacking output for Slavia Prague last season suggests that he could have a lot to offer in front of the former Lille man.
The £22m-rated star, as shown in the post above, ranked highly among his positional peers outside the seven major leagues in a host of key attacking metrics.
Malick Diouf (24/25) Chance Liga Europa League
Appearances 27 8
Goals 7 0
Big chances missed 3 1
Big chances created 10 3
Key passes per game 1.3 1.6
Assists 2 1
Completed dribbles per game 0.9 1.3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Diouf provided outstanding quality at the top end of the pitch, largely from a wing-back role, with seven goals and 13 'big chances' created in 35 appearances in the Chance Liga and the Europa League combined.
The Senegalese star, who analyst Rohit Kumaran hailed as "physically dominant", is a forward-thinking full-back who wants to get into the final third to score goals and create chances for his team, as shown by his impressive statistics in those departments.
daniel farke
That is why Diouf could come in as the perfect foil for Gudmundsson on the left flank for the Whites, because Farke would then have a solid and experienced defensive left-back and an attack-minded, yet defensively and physically capable, left midfielder in his starting XI.
Their respective qualities could complement each other well and help Leeds in their bid to avoid an instant relegation from the Premier League next term.
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