Leeds United still have a bit of time left to add more quality to their squad before the end of the summer transfer window at the start of September.
The Whites were reportedly leading the race to sign Leicester City attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss earlier this month, but they now look set to miss out on the Morocco international.
Leicester City's Bilal El Khannouss in action
Sky Sports reports that Crystal Palace are close to agreeing a deal with the Foxes to sign the 21-year-old playmaker in a deal that could be worth up to £32m.
Why missing out on Bilal El Khannouss is a blow
The Eagles swooping in to potentially sign El Khannouss ahead of Leeds is a blow for Daniel Farke because he is an impressive young talent who could have been an exciting addition to the squad at Elland Road.
In his first season in the Premier League, the Moroccan ranked within the top 25% of attacking midfielders for chances created (42) and the top 37% for xA (3.11), per FotMob.
Per Sofascore, El Khannouss created eight 'big chances' in 27 starts for Leicester, despite their relegation, and could have added an extra degree of creativity to the Leeds midfield.
leicester-city-bilal-el-khannouss-premier-league
The Whites could, however, forget all about the Foxes sensation by swooping to sign Gabriel Sara, who was linked with a £35m move from Galatasaray earlier this month.
Why Leeds should sign Gabriel Sara
Signing the Brazilian maestro would help everyone to forget about El Khannouss because he could be an even better signing for Leeds, particularly with the new 4-3-3 system that Farke deployed against Everton.
Lining up with three central midfielders instead of a double pivot and a number ten means that Sara could make more sense as a signing, as he is a creative central midfielder, rather than an out-and-out number ten like the Leicester starlet.
gabriel-sara-norwich-championship
The left-footed star, who delivered 13 goals and 12 assists in his last season in England with Norwich, has been in fantastic form for Galatasaray as a creative whiz in the middle of the park over the past 12 months.
Sara has created a staggering 11 chances in two matches in the Super Liga this season, per Sofascore, which is roughly a quarter as many as El Khannouss created in the entire 2024/25 campaign.
24/25 season El Khannouss (Premier League) Sara (Super Lig)
Appearances 32 30
Goals 2 2
Big chances created 8 12
xA 3.11 7.62
Assists 3 8
Key passes per game 1.3 2.3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Sara was directly involved in six more goals in two fewer appearances at league level in comparison to the £32m-rated man, and created one more chance per game on average.
The Brazilian star, who scored a sublime solo goal against Leeds two seasons ago - as shown in the highlights below, has been a consistently brilliant creator for both Galatasaray and Norwich in the last few years.
Sara, who was hailed as "outstanding" by former boss David Wagner, appears more likely to make an impact in the here and now in comparison to El Khannouss, who is younger and still developing.
The 26-year-old wizard is in the prime years of his career and could arrive at Elland Road to hit the ground running as a creative maestro in the middle of the park for Farke, given his prior experience in England and his form for the Turkish giants.
Therefore, Leeds should be pushing to secure a deal for Sara now that Palace are closing in on El Khannouss, because he has the experience, the quality, and the creativity to be an even better signing for the Whites in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.