Leeds United have turned their attention towards bolstering their attack in the final month of the summer transfer window. With their midfield and defence sorted, the Whites are keen to bring in forwards before the window closes a month from today.
The Whites have forked out a shade over £75m on seven new players, but three of them are defenders and two are midfielders. They have also signed Lucas Perri to address their goalkeeping issues from last season and former Wolfsburg striker Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer earlier in the window.
Leeds have opened talks with Leicester City attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, and are prepared to pay his £24.5m release clause and the associated costs to snare him away from the King Power Stadium in the ongoing transfer window.
The Whites are also keen to sign a starting number 9, but major development is brewing behind the scenes regarding the future of one Leeds striker in the ongoing transfer window.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United strikers?
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Leeds United make major transfer decision on Mateo Joseph
Mateo Joseph has slapped in a transfer request, and wants to leave Elland Road for a move to Spain in the ongoing summer transfer window.
The striker has not joined pre-season training with the rest of the Leeds squad and is agitating for a move away from Elland Road in the coming weeks.
However, according to The Athletic, Joseph still has major admirers inside the Leeds hierarchy, and his future has not been finalised yet.
Leeds chairman Parag Maraathe is a big fan of the Spaniard, and Daniel Farke has pointed out that 39 appearances last season show his admiration for the Spain Under-21 striker.
The Whites still value the Spaniard despite being annoyed and angry at his actions to try and leave the club this summer.
Therefore, Leeds are only open to a simple loan move for Joseph, and do not want any mechanism that could make it a permanent deal.
Real Betis are interested in signing a striker and have already failed with a bid for him. They want an option to make the move permanent in any loan deal.
With the club chiefs believing in Joseph’s talent, the club are in no mood to lose control over his future even if he leaves this summer.
The Joseph saga could run a while longer
Leeds are annoyed at the way Joseph has conducted himself this summer, but the club still believe in his talent and feel he has a high ceiling.
The Whites do not want to sell him, and are only interested in loan approaches that contain no purchase options, either option or obligation.
Joseph wants to return to Spain, and Daniel Farke is unlikely to welcome him back into his squad after his decision to submit a transfer request.
It is likely to take a while to finalise his future, and Joseph could leave the club only towards the end of the transfer window.
