In May, Football Insider reported that Leeds United were not planning to build their attack around Dutch centre-forward Joel Piroe in the Premier League next season.
It claimed that the Whites have doubts over his ability to make the step up to the top-flight as the first-choice number nine, but we are two months further on and no marquee striker signing has arrived at Elland Road.
Leeds-Piroe-Championship
Leeds had been linked with an interest in Brighton forward Evan Ferguson this summer, but he is now reportedly in talks to join Roma on an initial loan deal.
This means that the Ireland international may be one name that has to be crossed off the club's shortlist of options to lead the line for Daniel Farke next season.
Leeds could make new offer for Serie A striker
Missing out on Ferguson to the Serie A giants may not be a major concern for the Championship champions, though, because they are keen on signing an even better striker who is already playing in Italy.
According to La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Leeds United remain interested in a deal to sign Lecce centre-forward Nikola Krstovic to bolster their attack this summer, after seeing a bid turned down earlier in the window.
The report claims that the Whites are in the 'background' in the race to sign the Montenegro international at the moment, because he would prefer to stay in Italy or play for a team in a European competition.
nikola-krstovic-lecce
However, the outlet adds that Leeds will make a new offer to bring the striker to England later in the window if he does not move elsewhere in the coming weeks, in the hope that the player will change his mind.
Why Leeds should sign Krstovic
If the Whites can convince the £21m-rated number nine to make the move to Elland Road, Farke could land an even better striker option than Ferguson for his side next term.
Krstovic has played for Lecce in the Serie A in the last two seasons and has proven his ability to find the back of the net at an impressive rate in one of Europe's major leagues.
The 25-year-old Leeds target ended the 2024/25 season with an eye-catching haul of 11 goals in 37 games in the Serie A for Lecce, which is more goals than Ferguson has ever managed in a single senior campaign.
Stats Evan Ferguson (Premier League) Nikola Krstovic (Serie A)
Season 23/24 24/25
Appearances 27 21
Goals 6 1
Minutes per goal 231 418
Big chances created 1 2
Assists 0 0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Krstovic has outscored Ferguson by 11 goals at league level in the past two seasons, whilst also creating six more 'big chances' for his teammates.
These statistics suggest that the Lecce forward, who was hailed as "integral" by former boss Roberto D’Aversa, would be a much better signing for the Whites for next season, as he appears more likely to have what it takes to make a significant impact in front of goal on a regular basis.
Nikola-Krstovic
At the age of 20, Ferguson is still learning and developing as a player, which is why he would have been a risky signing for the club. Krstovic, however, is in the prime years of his career at the age of 25 and could hit the ground running at Elland Road.
Therefore, the Whites should be doing everything possible to convince the player to ditch Italy for England this summer to bolster Farke's options in the number nine position, as the Montenegro international could be the proven goalscorer they are looking for.
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Piroe is yet to score a goal in one of Europe's major leagues in his career and the aforementioned report from Football Insider stated that there are doubts over his ability, which is why Leeds should sign Krstovic to fill that spot in the team.