Leeds United have welcomed Sean Longstaff to Elland Road as their latest arrival of the summer transfer window, after they officially announced a deal for the midfielder on Friday night.
Fabrizio Romano reported that the Whites have paid a fee in excess of £12m to Newcastle United to bring the experienced midfield star to West Yorkshire ahead of next season.
The Magpies academy graduate may not be the only central midfielder to come through Thorp Arch this summer, though, as Hoffenheim’s Anton Stach has also been linked with a move to the club.
Leeds have reportedly held talks with the Bundesliga club and agreed personal terms with the players, but they are yet to agree a fee for his services.
Leeds enquired about LaLiga star
Whilst they appear to be heavily pursuing a deal for Stach, the Championship champions also have other options on their shortlist of targets to bolster their options in midfield.
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According to The Athletic, Leeds United made contact with Getafe over a potential deal for versatile star Christantus Uche several weeks ago this summer.
The report claims that the Whites enquired about his situation and did not opt to make an official offer for his services, although it remains to be seen if they are planning to submit a bid for him later in the window.
It adds that the 22-year-old talent has a release clause of around £22m (£21.6m) in his contract with the Spanish side, which means that Leeds could trigger that to land him.
The Athletic also reveals that the Nigeria international, who made his debut for his country in May, is open to the idea of joining a Premier League club.
Leeds could find their own Joelinton
Daniel Farke could unearth his own version of Joelinton by signing Uche and moulding him into a midfield destroyer to bolster his team ahead of next season.
The Brazil international joined Newcastle United as a striker for a reported fee of £40m from Hoffenheim in 2019 under Steve Bruce, before Eddie Howe spotted his potential to be a central midfielder.
Since making the transition, Joelinton has emerged as one of the Premier League’s top midfield destroyers, making 2.8 tackles and interceptions and winning 5.7 duels per game in the division last term.
Uche has started more games as a striker (18) in his career than any other position, but has also started 15 times as a defensive midfielder in the past, and U23 scout Antonio Mango claimed that he could be turned into a “midfield monster”.
Tackles won
0.76
Top 11%
Duels won
8.13
Top 13%
Aerial duels won
3.31
Top 28%
Interceptions
0.36
Top 25%
Ball recoveries
3.96
Top 8%
Possession won in the final third
0.90
Top 11%
Fouls committed
1.98
Top 29%
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old star thrived out of possession in LaLiga for Getafe last season, ranking highly among forwards in a host of defensive metrics, notably winning duels and recovering the ball off the opposition to regain possession for his side.
Meanwhile, the Leeds target only scored four goals in 33 appearances, along with six assists, which does not suggest that his future lies as a prolific centre-forward option, just like when Joelinton scored two goals in 38 Premier League games in his first season at Newcastle as a striker.
Therefore, Farke could be the coach to help Uche follow in Joelinton’s footsteps by transitioning from a low-scoring, defensively savvy, centre-forward into a ‘midfield monster’, as Antonio Mango put it.
The Getafe attacker has played in midfield before, as aforementioned, and has the strong physical and defensive attributes to suit playing as an enforcer in front of the back four, which is why this is a move that could be a very interesting one for Leeds to make.
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It may now be down to Leeds to decide whether they want to go through with a swoop for Stach or if they want to activate Uche’s release clause, so there could be an intriguing few weeks to follow.