Leeds United are still in need of a new striker this summer, and there seem to be four possible options for Daniel Farke ahead of the new season.
So far this summer, just one new striker has arrived at Elland Road. Lukas Nmecha has joined from Wolfsburg on a free transfer, and fans are divided over the Nmecha signing but the former Man City man has looked sharp in the pre-season.
But even if Nmecha comes good for Leeds, Farke still needs more depth up top, with just Joel Piroe, Nmecha, and Harry Gray as options going into the new season.
It comes as a flurry of strikers look set to leave the club in the coming weeks, with Mateo Joseph having handed in a transfer request, and Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt having fallen well out of favour.
There’s not been a shortage of effort from Leeds to sign a new striker, but so far the 49ers have made little concrete progress in pursuit of the likes of Rodrigo Muniz.
Rodrigo Muniz in action for Fulham against Bournemouth.
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Rodrigo Muniz remains top striker target but Leeds United forced to eye new options
Previous reports revealed that Muniz is the top striker target for Leeds United this summer. The Whites have already seen a bid rejected for the Brazilian striker this summer, so too have Spurs, as Fulham appear to be holding out to sign a new striker of their own before cashing in on Muniz.
An emerging report from TeamTalk has now revealed that Muniz remains the club’s ‘undisputed top target’ for the attacking department. But that ‘difficulties over a deal’ has forced Farke to turn his attention to other potential targets, including Artem Dovbyk and Nikola Krstovic, who play for Roma and Lecce in Serie A respectively.
The pair have emerged as possible alternatives to Muniz this summer, whilst TeamTalk also reiterate that Aleksandar Mitrovic has been offered to Leeds United ahead of the new season. Though a deal for the former Fulham man could prove difficult given his sky-high wages at current club Al-Hilal, understood to be worth around £400,000 every week.
Daniel Farke looks on during Millwall vs Leeds United.
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Will Leeds United eventually sign Rodrigo Muniz?
There has been a lot of back and forth over whether or not Leeds can eventually sign the 23-year-old from Craven Cottage this summer. Already, it is understood that Leeds have seen a £26m bid rejected for Muniz, as Fulham appear to be adamant on gaining £50m for the super sub.
A recent boost was handed to Farke, though, after it was reported that Atalanta are unwilling to meet Muniz’s asking price, which reports in Italy say is now just £43.5m. So it may be that this initial £50m was a deterrent from Fulham, but after seeing how Leeds have persisted with their interest in Muniz, this £43.5m asking price might well be their true asking price.
Already this summer, Leeds United have spent half of their £150m transfer budget, so there is room to go for a marquee signing like this, but Farke still needs more attacking signings and he may be hesitant to spend the bulk of his remaining transfer budget on Muniz.