Leeds United have made a number of signings to improve their defensive unit ahead of their return to the Premier League against Everton next month.
The Whites have brought in Gabriel Gudmundsson, Jaka Bijol, and Sebastiaan Bornauw for the back four, Lucas Perri between the sticks, and Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach in the defensive midfield positions.
However, it is now time for the Championship champions to focus on additions in the attacking areas of the pitch, as Lukas Nmecha, on a free transfer, has been their only forward signing so far.
It had been reported that Leeds are closing in on an agreement with Feyenoord to sign Brazilian winger Igor Paixao for an initial fee of £28m, as per journalist Sebastien Vidal.
However, Fabrizio Romano has since given Marseille the ‘Here We Go’ treatment, despite an improved bid by the Whites, which means that the English side look set to miss out on him.
This suggests that Daniel Farke and his recruitment team will have to look elsewhere to strengthen the attack, as the 25-year-old star seems destined for France now.
Why missing out on Igor Paixao is a blow for Leeds
The Brazilian star is a left winger who had the potential to be a real difference-maker for the West Yorkshire outfit at the top end of the pitch in the Premier League next season.
Paixao’s form in the Eredivisie and in the Champions League last term suggests that he had all the tools to arrive at Elland Road as an exciting piece of business.
The former Cortiba starlet racked up an eye-catching haul of 16 goals and ten assists in 34 appearances in the Dutch top-flight for Feyenoord, which shows that he can offer quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
As well as shining domestically, Paixao also produced impressive performances for his side in the Champions League across 11 appearances last term.
xG
0.97
Top 46%
Goals
2
Top 35%
Shots on target
7
Top 26%
xA
1.39
Top 24%
Chances created
20
Top 6%
Successful crosses
9
Top 6%
Assists
4
Top 4%
As you can see in the table above, the Leeds target ranked highly among his positional peers, particularly as a creator, as an offensive threat from the left wing in the competition.
Overall, the £28m-rated star appears to be a forward who could have won points for the Whites by scoring and creating decisive goals in games, although there are doubts, of course, over whether or not his form in the Netherlands will translate to other countries.
Whilst they may have to watch him shine in France, Leeds are reportedly keen on another Brazilian attacker who could be an even better signing this summer.
Leeds in the hunt to sign Brazilian midfielder
According to Fanatik, Leeds United are one of the teams interested in a deal to sign central midfielder Gabriel Sara from Turkish champions Galatasaray this summer.
The report claims that both the Whites and Aston Villa are in the ‘hunt’ to bring the left-footed star back to England, 12 months on from his exit from Norwich City.
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It adds, though, that Galatasaray want to keep the 26-year-old playmaker heading into the 2025/26 campaign, which means that it will not be an easy deal for the club to do.
Fanatik does reveal, however, that the Super Lig side have set a price tag of around £30m for Sara, and that they will not entertain any offers that fall below that threshold.
It now remains to be seen whether or not Leeds, or Aston Villa for that matter, are willing to pay the £30m that it is going to take to prise him away from Istanbul.
Why Gabriel Sara would be a better signing than Igor Paixao
Sara could be a better signing for the Whites because he is more likely to hit the ground running at Elland Road than Paixao would have been, as the Feyenoord winger has never played in this country before and would have needed time to adapt to the language and the culture.
The Galatasaray star, however, spent two years at Norwich in Norfolk and speaks English fluently, which means that he is already used to the language, the culture, and the style of English football, albeit he played in the second tier.
His quality on the pitch also makes him an exciting target for the West Yorkshire outfit, as he is a creative midfield star who could create plenty of chances for the attackers at Elland Road.
Sara, who was hailed as “exceptional” and a “joy to watch” by reporter Connor Southwell, has been a consistently brilliant creator of goals for both Norwich and Galatasaray in the last two seasons, shining in English and Turkish football.
Appearances
46
30
Goals
13
2
Key passes per game
2.6
2.3
Big chances created
16
12
xA
11.93
7.62
Assists
12
8
As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian maestro has created 28 ‘big chances’ in the last two league seasons combined, which has led to him racking up 20 assists.
These statistics suggest that the former Canaries Player of the Season would be an incredibly influential figure at the top end of the pitch for Leeds, as a star who has the experience and the quality to hit the ground running in England.
Sara, as shown in the clip above, also provided a goal threat during his time with Norwich. That has not translated over to Turkish football, having scored twice last term, but it does show that the potential is there for him to deliver goals as well as assists when he is at his best.
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It is his English experience, his title success at Galatasaray, and his incredible creative quality, though, that could make him an even better attacking signing than Paixao would have been, albeit in a different area of the pitch.
