From Phil Hay.. no mention of Nat Phillips
Last week, it was reported that Amiri’s proposed move from Bayer Leverkusen was off and the bid for Genk’s Paintsil had run into trouble. Leeds, however, remained convinced that neither deal was dead.
Amiri was on Leverkusen’s bench against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday but didn’t play. Leeds have had an offer for Amiri accepted by his Bundesliga side and the move is down to him, a Germany international who Leeds accept would be dropping below his true level by coming to the Championship. Farke realised when he pushed Amiri’s name forward as a possibility that an affordable price did not make it an easy signing to pull off.
Amiri
Amiri on the bench for Leverkusen during pre-season (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
The No 10 area in Farke’s team is one position where additional options would be sensible. Piroe debuted there in a very fluid forward line against Ipswich, performing to very good effect, but it stands to reason that the Dutchman will gravitate into the centre-forward slot soon. Farke sees Crysencio Summerville as more of a central attacker than a winger, but Amiri is substantially more proven than Summerville and Saturday’s victory showed that the right amount of creativity in that area will yield an ample number of goals this season.
Paintsil, a Ghana international for whom Leeds submitted a formal offer on Friday, would strengthen Farke’s options again while also mitigating the possibility that a large offer arrives for, say, Luis Sinisterra before the deadline. Paintsil, however, rejected a move to Southampton last week and reports in Belgium suggest he is minded to stay with Genk beyond the end of the window. Leeds believe their interest in him still has a chance of paying off, though Genk have not accepted their initial bid and all sides regard the situation as complicated. As a whole, this will be a fast-moving period.
Behind their front line, Leeds are also looking for a central midfielder and, especially after Sam Byram’s adductor strain at Ipswich, a full-back. Leeds have more than one defender on their radar but an approach has been made for Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence (pictured top) to take him on a season-long loan. Spence is not in Ange Postecoglou’s plans for 2023-24 and Leeds have already done one deal with Spurs this summer, loaning Joe Rodon for the season. On the left-back front, they have looked at Burnley’s Charlie Taylor and Leicester City’s Luke Thomas. They have made two approaches for him in this window for what would likely be a loan deal, but Leicester are unsure about loaning him to a Championship rival.
Options are also open in the search for a central midfielder, a signing that would support Farke’s current pairing of Archie Gray and Ethan Ampadu. Leeds have been monitoring Rangers’ Glen Kamara for several weeks and have the necessary funds.
Talk in Germany of late interest in another Farke target, Fortuna Dusseldorf’s Ao Tanaka, is accurate. Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien, who was relatively close to joining Leeds from Huddersfield Town in 2021, has been linked heavily over the past seven days, although his wage and Forest’s valuation of him would potentially make him expensive. In all of these cases, Farke will have the final say.
