Noah Okafor celebrates with Tammy Abraham.placeholder image
Noah Okafor celebrates with Tammy Abraham. | Getty Images
Daniel Farke is ‘pushing’ to bring a Serie A forward to Leeds United ahead of facing Arsenal.
Leeds United are working hard to sign Serie A champion Noah Okafor with Daniel Farke pushing to try and have the transfer completed as soon as possible, ahead of making the tricky trip to Arsenal this weekend.
The Whites begin their Premier League campaign when hosting Everton at Elland Road this evening before travelling to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The newly promoted Yorkshire outfit have been busy so far in the summer window but a deal for Okafor would be a head-turning coup.
Leeds United have strengthened their forward additions with the arrivals of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha but both of those deals were free transfers. Significant fees have been spent in midfield and defence, but not in attack so far.
Leeds United pushing to sign AC Milan forward
There is no way a deal for Okafor is completed in time for the 25-year-old to face Everton but a debut against Arsenal could be more likely. An update from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on Monday read: “ Leeds United are close to signing Noah Okafor from AC Milan! Understand proposal worth over €20m has been submitted today, contract until June 2029 plus option until 2030. Final green light up to Okafor then deal can be done, with #LUFC coach Daniel Farke pushing a lot.”
The power over the £17 million transfer remains with Okafor, who spent the back end of last season on loan at Napoli and got his hands on the Serie A trophy. The forward has made a total of 54 appearances for AC Milan, scoring seven goals, since arriving in 2023.
Okafor could challenge Ben White with ‘magnificent’ pace
Okafor prefers to be deployed in the left wing role and is known for his pace and threat when running with the ball, rather than being prolific in front of goal. If signed and deployed by Farke, he could test Ben White next weekend.
The Swiss international broke through at Red Bull Salzburg, winning four league titles after taking his first steps with Basel. When coming up through the under-21 side of the Switzerland national team, former boss Mauro Lustrinelli noted the player’s ‘magnificent’ speed and ‘technical qualities’, which have only grown since then.
The Gunners last faced Leeds United in the 2022/23 Premier League season, winning both fixtures. Arsenal romped to a 4-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium that season with a brace from Gabriel Jesus alongside Ben White and Granit Xhaka goals.
In other news, Arsenal sent Eberechi Eze transfer warning as 'total agreement' struck over defender.
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