Leeds United have already added Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic to Daniel Farke’s squad this summer, but the club’s recruitment drive is far from over.
The Whites are now on the verge of completing a club-record deal for Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, with the England international having already agreed personal terms ahead of his proposed move to Elland Road.
Not everything has gone Leeds’ way, though. The club were dealt a significant setback after Julian Brandt turned down a move to West Yorkshire in favour of joining Dutch giants Ajax.
Leeds had been optimistic they could persuade the 30-year-old to make the switch to the Premier League, but the German ultimately opted for a move to the Eredivisie instead.
Read More: Leeds United decide on revisiting cut-price deal for ÂŁ30m target
Leeds United suffer another major transfer blow
With Julian Brandt opting for Ajax, Leeds have shifted their focus to alternative attacking targets as they continue their summer recruitment.
Daniel Farke is still determined to add more creativity to his squad before the new Premier League season gets underway, and the club are now exploring other options in the market.
One player back on Leeds’ radar is Igor Paixao, who turned down a move to Elland Road last summer in favour of joining Marseille.
The Whites have held initial discussions with the Brazilian’s representatives, but the latest indications from France suggest a deal may be difficult to pull off.
According to French outlet Foot Sur 7, Paixao is not interested in leaving Marseille in the ongoing summer transfer window.
The winger wants to remain in France and prove why Marseille paid a considerable fee to sign him last year.
The French giants would prefer to cash in by selling the Brazilian, as they are in dire need of funds ahead of the new season.
However, at the moment, Paixao is not convinced about leaving Marseille, and Leeds are unlikely to sign him this summer.
Leeds United must move on from Igor Paixao
Igor Paixao has admirers inside the Leeds recruitment team, which explains why the club are interested in him again, a year after he snubbed a move to Elland Road.
However, with the transfer window moving quickly, Leeds have to consider whether it is worth investing time in a player who does not seem fully convinced about joining the club.
They made a similar mistake with Julian Brandt and waited for weeks for the German to decide to move to the Netherlands on a free transfer this summer.
Despite the noise of Brandt wanting to play in the Premier League, there was always a sense that he would prefer to stay in mainland Europe.
Leeds should chase players who are actually interested in the project under Farke, rather than pushing to sign a player like Paixao who has already rejected them once.
Also the small matter of he is an out and out left wing and his asking price is about 40 million. This a nonsense story and was from the start.
Leeds need to look at bringing in targets that are achievable. Pavel Sulc, Romano Schmid are both achievable. Rees Smit, (better alternative to Charles and can leave for about the same price according to Feynord), Ueda and Nicolo Tresoldi are all possible.
We still need cover at LWB and GK but suspect they will be loans or free signings.
To be honest Leeds looked pretty good against Liverpool the three promoted sides don’t look that strong. We might be okay once Trafford signs
Still in need of a Gk,Lb, Mf and St even after Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic and hopefully Trafford, Cairns is not good enough for a back up Gk, we lacked a skilful runner and ball player too many poor passes and lost possession even against a weak Liverpool team, still a good or at least a better second half though đź‘Ť
Would you give up on this nonsense story. 2nd year running … Same nonsense. He was never coming. Leave it.
I would still go for a striker at a reasonable price, as well as back up keeper and LWB. It was a great result against Liverpool, but it was a friendly, so I’d expect Liverpool to be sterner in the Premier League. Forget Igor. His heart isn’t in it and we wasted enough time already.