Leeds United sit at the summit of the Championship table but only have a one-point lead over their immediate rivals. Daniel Farke has been urged to bring in new signings to boost their promotion hopes and there are suggestions, the Whites are in the market for a striker. Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath has emerged as an option for Leeds and the club are considering tabling a bid for him. Latte Lath has been in fine form this season and his arrival could become a game-changer for the Yorkshire giants.
The 3-3 draw at Hull City at the weekend has led to some soul-searching inside Leeds. There are now calls for the club to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.
Illan Meslier’s future in the Leeds team is under the scanner with the Whites now linked with a loan move for Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher this month.
Leeds are also believed to be in the market for a striker as Joel Piroe is not prolific enough and Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford have done little to inspire confidence in the Whites fans.
According to LeedsUnitedNews, Middlesbrough striker Latte Lath has emerged as a target for Leeds who are considering snaring him away from the Riverside Stadium this month.
It is unclear why Middlesbrough would want to strengthen a rival by selling one of their top strikers in the middle of the season but Leeds are apparently exploring a deal to sign the centre-forward in the winter transfer window.
Emmanuel Latte Lath will slot straight into the Leeds team
Daniel Farke is circumspect about bringing in new signings in the winter window as it takes time for players to get used to the pace of the Championship.
However, it won’t be a problem if Leeds bring in Championship-proven players and Emmanuel Latte Lath could be the perfect signing for the Whites.
If Leeds bring in one or two signings, they cannot afford to wait for them to come good and need them to make an instant impact on the team’s performance.
Latte Lath has emerged as a proven performer in the Championship and he has scored as many goals in the league as Joel Piroe this season.
He is a different kind of striker than Piroe and would add something fresh to the Leeds squad and provide more variety to the forward line at Elland Road.
He is an excellent finisher as he has converted most of his chances and has an xG of 10.92, which is similar to the number of goals he has scored.
Latte Lath has scored seven of his ten goals when starting games for Boro this season but he is also a good option from the bench as he has three strikes as a substitute.
Signing the Boro striker would be complicated
However, convincing Middlesbrough to sell one of their top strikers to their Championship rivals would be a complicated task for Leeds in the winter window.
Latte Lath would be a great signing for the Whites but talks with Boro are likely to be protracted as they are unlikely to be too willing to strengthen a Championship rival in the middle of the season.
Middlesbrough signed Latte Lath from Atalanta in a £4.2million deal last summer and he has a contract until 2027 with Boro having an option to extend it by another year.
Leeds would have to fork out a fee that is significantly more than the figure Boro paid for him last summer if they want to sign Latte Lath in the winter window.
Farke has been unwilling to spend in the winter window and it is still not certain whether he is prepared to act to strengthen his squad this month.
However, the Leeds owners will have to dig deep into their pockets if they want to snare Latte Lath away from Middlesbrough in the winter window.
