Leeds United reportedly have no plans to part ways with head coach Daniel Farke after the club's 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out in the Premier League.
Sky Sports recently claimed that there is 'growing discontent among supporters' over the German manager's position at Elland Road, but the Whites are not planning to fire him.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke looks dejected after the match
The West Yorkshire outfit are sat on 11 points from 11 matches and are one point above the relegation zone, which means that they are currently on course to achieve their goal of survival.
However, the Whites play Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea in three of their next four matches and may find themselves in the bottom three heading into the festive period.
|Leeds United's remaining Premier League matches in 2025|
|Opposition|Venue|
|---|
|Aston Villa|Elland Road|
|Manchester City|The Etihad|
|Chelsea|Elland Road|
|Liverpool|Elland Road|
|Brentford|GTech Community Stadium|
|Crystal Palace|Elland Road|
|Sunderland|Stadium of Light|
Whilst one reaction to a bad run of form in that tough run of fixtures could be to remove the manager, another could be to back him with the right tools in the January window.
Adding more attacking quality to the squad should be one of the board's priorities, because Leeds have not had enough of that in the Premier League so far this season.
Leeds United's biggest xG underperformers
The Championship champions have underperformed their xG of 12.7, scoring just 11 goals, per FBref, which shows that Farke's players have let him down in front of goal in the top-flight.
Daniel Farke and Brendan Rodgers
Ultimately, the German boss cannot score the goals for them. If his coaching is creating high-quality chances on a consistent basis, as the xG suggests that it is, then it should be the players who are looked at if they are not taking those chances.
|Leeds United's biggest xG underperformers|
|25/26 Premier League|xG|Goals|xG differential|
|---|
|Dominic Calvert-Lewin|2.89|1|-1.89|
|Jayden Bogle|0.88|0|-0.88|
|Brenden Aaronson|1.79|1|-0.79|
|Joel Piroe|0.73|0|-0.73|
|Pascal Struijk|0.65|0|-0.65|
|Dan James|0.47|0|-0.47|
|Jack Harrison|0.41|0|-0.41|
|Stats via WhoScored|
As you can see in the table above, five of the seven players who have underperformed their xG the most in the squad this season have not scored a single goal, including attackers like Joel Piroe, Jack Harrison, and Dan James.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin's significant underperformance in front of goal is possibly the most frustrating, as he was signed from Everton in the summer as an experienced Premier League operator.
The £100k-per-week centre-forward, whose only goal for the club so far came against Wolves in September, has scored one goal and missed ten 'big chances' in ten appearances in all competitions for the Whites, per Sofascore.
These statistics show that the former England international has been incredibly wasteful in the final third, which is why it would have pleased Farke to see Lukas Nmecha score with a clinical finish against Forest before the start of the break.
Calvert-Lewin-1
Calvert-Lewin's underperformance is a cause for concern and may be why the Whites are reportedly looking at another striker to potentially add to their squad.
Leeds keeping tabs on star with club-record price tag
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Leeds United are showing an interest in FC Midtjylland centre-forward Franculino ahead of the January transfer window.
Bailey told LeedsUnitedNews: “He’s (Franculino) got a lot of teams looking at him. West Ham like him a lot, they looked at him in the summer. Midtjylland have put a £40m price tag on him.
“Teams will possibly try to soften that by putting in lesser offers. He’s got an awful lot of interest; I’m told over 20 clubs across Europe like him. Leeds have looked at him, he’s on their radar, they’ve watched him.”
A £40m move for Franculino would be a club-record fee for the Whites, as it would eclipse the £35.5m deal they agreed to pay Hoffenheim for Georgino Rutter in January 2023.
FC Midtjylland's Franculino Dju celebrates scoring their first goal
It now remains to be seen whether or not the 49ers are prepared to break the club's record transfer fee to bolster Farke's squad ahead of the second half of the season.
Why Leeds United should sign Franculino in January
The Whites should break the bank to sign the Guinea-Bissau international in the January transfer window because he could come in as a big upgrade on Calvert-Lewin in the centre-forward position.
Since his move from Benfica in 2023, the left-footed marksman has racked up an eye-catching 52 goals and 13 assists in 99 appearances in all competitions for Midtjylland, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has averaged a goal more than every other game for the Danish side.
Three of those 52 goals have come in his four appearances in the Europa League so far this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he can deliver quality in front of goal at a respectable level.
Whilst there may be question marks over how the Danish Superliga translates to the English Premier League, there is no denying that his form for Midtjylland is incredibly eye-catching.
25/26 season Calvert-Lewin (Premier League) Franculino (Superliga)
Appearances 9 14
Goals 1 14
Minutes per goal 615 76
Conversion rate 6% 38%
Big chances missed 6 7
Big chances created 1 3
Assists 0 3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Guinea-Bissau international has averaged a goal every 76 minutes, with a goal every game, in the Danish top-flight, whilst Calvert-Lewin has only managed a goal every 615 minutes.
Franculino, who was described as "simply unstoppable" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has offered significantly more to his team this season than Calvert-Lewin has in the final third, as both a goalscorer and a creator.
Franculino Dju
The 21-year-old star's all-time statistics for Midtjylland also suggest that it is not a flash in the pan, as he has a terrific overall record, and that is why he could be an exciting addition to Farke's squad to solve their finishing problems.
Calvert-Lewin's form for Leeds since his move from Everton has not been good enough, as evidenced by his xG underperformance, and Franculino appears to be a player who could come in and be the clinical finisher that the Whites lack, which is why he may be worth paying a club-record fee for.