Leeds United are looking to force some late deals over the line in the market and were closing in on their next summer capture before being hijacked.
Leeds release Patrick Bamford as space opened for fresh faces
After making it clear that the former England international wasn’t part of his Premier League plans, Daniel Farke took the step to release Patrick Bamford this week to free up space in his forward line amid the Whites’ hunt for reinforcements.
Largie Ramazani has moved on loan to Valencia, and Isaac Schmidt will spend the season at Werder Bremen. However, news that the experienced striker has been let go has become a late talking point at Elland Road.
Addressing his departure, former Chelsea man Bamford admitted he has been left feeling ‘raw’ regarding recent events, though looked back on pride at what he achieved during his time in Yorkshire.
He stated on social media: “Right now, with the way it has come to an end and the way things have been handled recently it is all too raw for me to reflect on immediately. But in the years to come, I will look back at this period of my life with nothing but joy and pride and be super happy with what I have achieved.
“I want to thank all the managers I played under but especially Marcelo Bielsa. I don’t know where the club would be without the foundations he laid.”
With that now said and done, Leeds are lining up a move for Getafe forward Christantus Uche after his move to Wolves stalled. Meanwhile, they have also made a late approach to sign German forward Timo Werner.
Time is running out to conclude deals, though they were moving closer to bringing in a much-needed element of creativity to bolster the ranks.
Leeds hijacked by Chelsea in Facundo Buonanotte deal
Taking to social media platform X, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook confirmed Leeds were closing in on Facundo Buonanotte, offering credit to fellow reporter Ben Jacobs as the Whites near a deal to land the Brighton & Hove Albion attacking midfielder.
However, since this, it has been revealed that Chelsea have moved to hijack Leeds’ deal for Buonanotte after they missed out on Xavi Simons to Tottenham.
Labelled “huge talent” by Jacek Kulig, the Argentina international spent last season on loan at Leicester City, amassing six goals and three assists in 35 appearances.
Now likely to follow that up with a loan to Stamford Bridge, the 20-year-old could have moved to Yorkshire and offer a degree of versatility in the forward areas, given his capability to feature in the ten role or as a right winger. FBRef claim his play style is similar to the likes of Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, with both players thriving on a per 90 minutes basis for defensive metrics.
Indeed, both the Brighton starlet and Bellingham rank in the top 25 per cent for tackles, interceptions, blocks, clearances and aerials won when compared to other attacking midfielders over the last 365 days, offering some insight into the pressing benefits of having him in the team.
Ao Tanaka’s recent injury left a slot for another midfielder to enter Farke’s rotation, and Buonanotte would have allowed the German coach to shuffle things around in the engine room, but Leeds now need to look elsewhere.