During the summer, Leeds United were desperate to land Brazilian winger Igor Paixao from Feyenoord. But, they missed out as he opted to join Marseille.
The chief criticism of how Leeds managed their summer window post-promotion was their inability to land key attacking targets.
Daniel Farke’s current setup is clearly short of a forward or two, as Leeds came agonisingly close to players that could have transformed their front line.
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Leeds United missed out on huge Igor Paixao transfer as he chose Marseille
The most expensive and most high-profile signing Leeds failed to land was Igor Paixao. The Brazilian winger looked an incredibly ambitious attempt after another stunning season at Feyenoord, but United were dogged in their interest.
Leeds United set their sights on signing Igor Paixao from Feyenoord, only to be pipped by Marseille. (REUTERS/Pedro Nunes)
A £28million bid was as high as Leeds went, putting the ball in Paixao’s court as his Dutch employers seemed content with the financials of Leeds’ offers.
However, United ended up missing out as Paixao favoured a move to Ligue 1 outfit Marseille. It was unsurprisingly so, given their Champions League qualification under Roberto De Zerbi.
As Leeds missed out on the Feyenoord man, they pivoted to Noah Okafor in August after the Swiss winger’s superb outing against the Whites in Dublin during pre-season.
How is Igor Paixao getting on at Marseille after Leeds United snub?
The individual match-winning quality that many Premier League squads possess is somewhat lost on Leeds this season. Paixao could have been that player.
His form at Marseille so far has been up and down, initially enduring a slow start as he got over pre-season fitness struggles and integrated in De Zerbi’s side.
Igor Paixao is settling in nicely at Marseille after a difficult start. (REUTERS/Manon Cruz)
Since then, his contributions in league and Europe have been steady.
Igor Paixao this season Ligue 1 UCL Total
Total Appearances (starts) 8 (2) 4 (1) 12
Goals 1 3 4
Assists 1 1 2
Having played 716 minutes across these two competitions, Paixao is registering 0.75 goals and assists per 90. A respectable return. The 25-year-old, though, couldn’t stop OM from losing 1-0 at home to Atalanta this week, getting a 4/10 rating from GFFN.
A controversial winner in the 90th minute for the Serie A side leaves Marseille currently 25th in the Champions League table at the league phase’s halfway point. Failure to improve their position from here would see them dumped out of the competition.
Will Leeds United regret missing out on Igor Paixao after Marseille form?
Mixed performances for Paixao don’t take away from the fact that his very best for Marseille has already been on display. His stunning showing against rock-bottom Ajax in the Champions League has been his peak so far, scoring twice and assisting another in a 4-0 rout.
Leeds were powerless to stop Paixao from choosing Marseille. Their attempts included pointing to Raphinha’s development as a reference to get a deal over the line. Missing out is undoubtedly something the club will be looking back on.
Okafor’s impact has been brilliant thus far – clearly Leeds’ best attacker – but Paixao was seen as a huge difference-maker. Leeds’ lack of consistent output in the final third, often carried by Okafor, underlines how integral someone of Paixao’s calibre could have been.
Even though he’s yet to consistently showcase £28million worth of quality over in France, three goals in four Champions League games is a level of output United are crying out for.
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