Leeds United are expecting to unveil Noah Okafor very soon after his arrival in the UK on Wednesday, but there’s one key issue still yet to be addressed in the Whites’ attack.
Claiming three points at home was the perfect way for Leeds and Daniel Farke to re-open their account in the Premier League, but the upcoming days of the transfer window will be vital.
United’s attack is the primary focus, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s free transfer arrival and Noah Okafor’s pending permanent transfer.
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Okafor’s £17.25million arrival from AC Milan looks to be getting wrapped up imminently as he was recently pictured in Colton, landing in the UK to complete a medical and other formalities.
Despite developing at Red Bull Salzburg largely as a centre-forward, Okafor has more recently been deployed as a left-winger predominantly, which is the position he’s likely to take up at Leeds, while offering Farke versatility in being capable of leading the line if absolutely needed.
(REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo)
The Swiss international’s arrival to strengthen on the left wing gives Leeds two other positions to focus on in the attack: another attacking midfielder, perhaps that favours the right side; and maybe another striker according to Farke.
“I wouldn’t rule out another striker signing because you always have to be awake until the last second if there is an opportunity. There are a few doubts due to the injury records of Dominic and Lukas,” Farke said pre-Everton.
“I wouldn’t rule it out but the focus is also on other positions. In general, we need more quality and options upfront. We have lost a standout offensive player in Manor Solomon. In this position we have to stay awake.”
Leeds United, Daniel Farke crying out for crossing specialist after recent transfer activity
The prospect of another striker is an intriguing one, because Calvert-Lewin’s arrival coincided with Leeds clearly missing out in their hunt to sign Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz, suggesting the ex-Everton man is coming here as a starter and an alternative to the Brazilian.
However, if Farke sees fit to spend further and bring in a fourth striker option to compete with Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe, then so be it.
Beyond that, the other attacking option Leeds have to consider is a more creative presence, as it became quite clear against Everton on Monday.
Leeds popped the ball around really nicely against the Toffees, especially in a dominant first-half showing, but one problem became evident: United were crying out for someone who could cross the ball effectively into dangerous places.
Whether it was having the 6ft4in Anton Stach taking set pieces, or just Leeds territory not leading to any meaningful chances from the 26 crosses they attempted, it was something that could do with being addressed by a new signing.
Leeds United should be looking to play into Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s aerial prowess. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)
When you’re going to have a cross-magnet leading the line like Calvert-Lewin, you need to lean into it, and whoever Leeds sign to complement Okafor elsewhere in the attack has to have that in their locker, while also budging Stach off corner duties.
Looking at names the club could consider to improve United in that capacity that have already been linked: Strasbourg’s Dilane Bakwa, Krasnodar’s Eduard Spertsyan, or Brighton’s Facundo Buonanotte could fill that gap, having been fairly high-volume crossers or set-piece takers at their respective clubs previously, while all of course add more to their sides than just swinging crosses in consistently:
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A standout here would be Bakwa, given what we know about his quality in dribbling and ability to drift inside too, providing Leeds with a different profile to Dan James, who prefers to hug the touchline.
The chances of Leeds landing this sort of high-calibre creator have been handed a huge boost by chairman Paraag Marathe’s public comments on Monday, hinting at the likelihood of the club’s best signing being yet to come:
“History shows there’s always a lot of activity in the last few weeks of the window, certainly the last few days of the window. We’ll exercise every day that we can,” he told Sky Sports.
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