Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is personally very keen on a former Aston Villa and West Brom talent, and has reportedly added him to their summer transfer list.
Leeds make summer transfer plans amid relegation battle
Right now, Farke is a man staring at an empty net.
Not literally — though it may feel that way at the moment.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke looks dejected after the match
Leeds have not scored in four consecutive Premier League matches. A goalless draw at Crystal Palace. A goalless draw at home to Brentford on Saturday evening. The two before that tell the same story.
For a side already in a relegation battle, that is a nightmare run of form, and it has dragged Farke's men back deep into the fight they had briefly looked like escaping.
Leeds sit 15th in the table with 33 points — just four above West Ham in 18th with seven games remaining.
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A winter spell of decent results had lifted the mood at Elland Road. Now, it feels like the walls are closing back in.
Winless in six league games, seven points from their last eight, and with the attack that looked reasonably functional for large parts of the season suddenly misfiring at the worst possible moment.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin — their top scorer with 10 league goals — missed a penalty at Crystal Palace. Lukas Nmecha has 6. Neither have registered in weeks. The goals have simply dried up.
It is against that backdrop that Farke is already thinking ahead, plotting the kind of summer recruitment that can prevent another season of white-knuckle survival — or, if the worst happens, build a squad capable of bouncing straight back up.
Farke personally wants Leeds to sign Southampton star Finn Azaz
As per Sports Boom this week, Finn Azaz, the Republic of Ireland attacking midfielder currently lighting up the Championship with Southampton, is on Farke's radar as a summer target.
Finn Azaz
The 25-year-old has been one of the most effective players outside the top flight this season, contributing nine league goals for the Saints after joining from Middlesbrough last summer for around £12 million.
It is believed that Farke is personally keen on Azaz and has shortlisted him as a Leeds summer transfer target.
That follows on from an even better campaign at the Riverside — 12 goals in the Championship last term, the finest tally of his career.
Azaz is exactly the type of player Leeds are missing right now. He is creative, carries a genuine goal threat from midfield and brings an intensity when the team is out of possession that his own manager, Tonda Eckert, has been keen to highlight.
"He's a top character, and a top player to have in the team, and I think there's lots more to come," said Eckert.
"I never doubt his quality. He's been outstanding."
The market for Azaz is growing too.
Brighton have scouted him on multiple occasions and are understood to be exploring a summer move themselves.
The Saints, it seems, are already preparing for the possibility that one of their key men will depart, with SportsBoom reporting they are monitoring Shakhtar Donetsk winger Prosper Obah as a potential replacement.
Azaz spent time on the books at both West Brom — his boyhood club — and Aston Villa earlier in his career without getting the Premier League opportunity he craved.
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Leeds will need to act decisively to beat Brighton to his signature.
First though, there are seven games left and a relegation fight that demands every last point Farke can wring out of his squad.
That business will have to wait, but when it comes, Azaz looks very much like the kind of player who could make a real impact at Elland Road.
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