All the key information you need to know on reported Leeds United transfer target Danilho Doekhi.
Leeds United could look to strengthen their defensive ranks this month amid reports of interest in another towering centre-back. Daniel Farke has four natural options but after recently switching to a back three, might feel the need for more depth - particularly given Sebastiaan Bornauw limped off at Derby County with an adductor issue.
Ahead of that win at Pride Park on Sunday, Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reported on interest in Danilho Doekhi, who has been identified as a potential target for either January or the summer. The defender isn’t particularly well known outside of the Bundesliga and so the YEP has rounded up all the key information on the Leeds-linked man.
Who is Leeds United target Danilho Doekhi?
Doekhi was born in Rotterdam in 1998 and came through a youth-development pathway that is very popular in the Netherlands. After spending much of his childhood years at Excelsior, he was snapped up by Ajax and played for their youth side, Jong Ajax, between 2016 and 2018.
That was a good period for the Ajax youth side, which also included Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert and a certain Pascal Struijk. Like the current Leeds vice captain, Doekhi left the Dutch giant in 2018, joining Vitesse where he made the step up to senior football, playing 140 games across all competitions and often captaining the side.
A 23-year-old Doekhi then joined Union Berlin in May 2022 and has gone on to feature regularly in the Bundesliga ever since. He’s played 117 times for Union Berlin, scoring an impressive 14 goals, and is known to another current Leeds player, having played alongside Brenden Aaronson during the American’s 2023/24 loan move to Germany.
Throughout Doekhi’s early development, he also rose through the ranks at international level with the Netherlands but having last played for the Under-21s in 2020, he is yet to receive a senior call-up. The centre-back, like Joel Piroe, is of Surinamese descent but is yet to switch allegiance.
What kind of defender is Danilho Doekhi?
It will come as little surprise, given Leeds’ summer recruitment strategy, that Doekhi is best-known for his physically-dominant approach to defending. At 6ft 3ins, he has proven more-than-capable at holding his own against top Bundesliga strikers and boasts a good level of top-flight and European experience.
Doekhi is right-footed and most regularly plays on the right of a back three at Union Berlin, although he can also play in the central role currently occupied by Jaka Bijol at Leeds. Whichever position, the Dutch youth international likes to get close to opposition strikers and is also very strong in the air.
Earlier this month, European football expert Kevin Hatchard gave his verdict on the links. He wrote on X: “Interesting to see#lufc linked with Union Berlin centre-back Danilho Doekhi. Only six months left on his deal, excellent in the air, set-piece threat, used to playing in a back three. Feels like a no-brainer to me.”
According to FBRef.com, Doekhi has won an average of 4.81 aerial duels per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga this season which places him in the top four per cent of defenders for that metric across the German top-flight. And compared to fellow centre-backs, he is an attacking monster, sitting in the top one per cent for goals (0.25), Non-Penalty Expected Goals (0.17), shots (1.56) and touches in the attacking penalty area (3.00) - all per 90 minutes.
Interestingly, FBRef’s comparison tool - which compares dozens of key metrics between players in the same position - singles out Leeds academy graduate Charlie Cresswell, now of Toulouse, as the most statistically similar centre-back across Europe’s top five leagues. Other similar styles include Manchester United stalwart Harry Maguire and Nikola Milenkovic of Nottingham Forest.
What is Danilo Doekhi’s contract situation?
Another unsurprising factor regarding Leeds’ reported interest in Doekhi is the defender’s contract situation at Union Berlin. The 27-year-old signed a new two-year deal back in 2024 that expires this summer.
Read More
Plettenberg’s weekend report adds that Doekhi intends to leave Union Berlin ‘at the latest’ this summer, suggesting he will not sign a new contract in the German capital. Leeds would still have to pay a fee if they want to sign him this month, but it would likely be below market value - which according to Transfermarkt is £11.3million.
Leeds have taken advantage of contract uncertainty before in recent years, most notably signing Jayden Bogle for just £5m as he entered the final 12 months of his Sheffield United deal. Ao Tanaka was also in the final year of his Fortuna Dusseldorf terms before joining Farke’s side in 2024.
Alternatively, Elland Road chiefs could wait until the summer before signing Doekhi if they deem it not an urgent priority, with the Dutch youth international set to be available on a free transfer. With less than six months remaining on his Union Berlin deal, the centre-back is now free to speak with foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement.
Continue Reading