Leeds United are finally starting to be respected among the Premier League’s elite, having found a large portion of their recent history to be marked by despair in the top division.
Even when Marcelo Bielsa was at the helm, the successes at the very top were ultimately short-lived, with relegation coming their way just two seasons on from the Argentine genius guiding the Whites to an unbelievable ninth position at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
Daniel Farke will be hopeful that he can be the man who solidifies the West Yorkshire giants as a top-flight mainstay again, with more wins in the bag this season surely resulting in survival being secured. After all, they haven’t been swallowed whole by the bright lights of the division, drawing with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United.
The German will also be looking at what remains of the January transfer window as a great time to boost his troops, as a big move continues to edge ever closer.
Leeds edge closer to signing £40m man
Farke will be overjoyed with the efforts of his camp in recent weeks, as their never-say-die attitude was clear for all to see against Fulham last time out, culminating in the ex-Norwich City manager celebrating passionately on the touchline when Lukas Nmecha fired home a late winner.
Still, he knows the task of keeping the West Yorkshire outfit up isn’t done just yet, with some forward players on the club’s radar. Earlier in the month, they were being linked with Artem Dobyvk but that move appears to have fallen flat in recent weeks. Derby County striker Patrick Agyemang has also reportedly been the subject of interest from Leeds.
However, the main name on everyone’s lips at Elland Road is Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who could finally leave Molineux behind for Elland Road.
As per a report by TEAMtalk, with added information from the Daily Mail, it has been revealed that Leeds are close to landing the in-demand Norwegian, with the Whites just £1m shy now of Wolves’ asking price of £40m.
Subsequently, there is a ‘growing feeling’ that a full and total agreement may not be too far away now, having seen a £30m offer previously rejected.
Why Strand Larsen could be Rutter 2.0
Such a barnstorming move certainly has the potential to surpass Georginio Rutter’s crazy £35.5m club-record switch back in January of 2022.
Having signed as a big-money addition in a winter window, like Strand Larsen could be, Rutter went down as an unbelievable hit amongst the Whites masses. Indeed, he put away a stunning eight goals and picked up 18 assists from 66 games while donning Leeds colours.
Amazingly, while Rutter is now heralded as a modern great at Leeds to this day for his jaw-dropping ability on the ball, his initial £35.5m move would have been met by a lot of confused faces, especially when assessing his grim start at Elland Road.
Indeed, the expensive Frenchman did not immediately acclimatise, with only one assist and zero goals next to his name from his first 14 appearances. Thankfully, everything clicked in the end for him under Farke.
|
Rutter’s numbers at Leeds by manager |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Manager |
Games |
Goals + Assists |
|
Farke |
53 |
8 + 17 |
|
Javi Gracia |
7 |
0 |
|
Michael Skubala |
3 |
0 |
|
Jesse Marsch |
2 |
0 |
|
Sam Allardyce |
1 |
0 + 1 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
||
Strand Larsen will hope he can revitalise his own playing days under the German, with Rutter collecting a whirlwind eight goals and 17 assists from just 4330 minutes of action, under his ex-manager’s watchful eye.
Unfortunately for the much-talked-about Old Gold number nine, his season so far has been disastrous, with only one meagre goal heading his way in the Premier League, as Wolves look nailed on to fall to the Championship. Therefore, splashing out £40m on such a goal-shy striker could be deemed somewhat foolish.
Yet, if Farke can work his magic on another low-on-confidence star, like he did with Rutter, Strand Larsen might well immediately justify his record-breaking £40m price-tag with some impactful displays in front of goal. After all, he bagged 14 Premier League strikes last season during his debut campaign on English shores.
Labelled as a “phenomenal” centre-forward presence by his former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, Strand Larsen would surely give the free-flowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin a run for his money up top, if his very best was to come to the forefront again, with competition for places heating up, giving Farke plenty of options to work with.
Once even considered to be “one of the best strikers in the Premier League” by scout Ben Mattinson, the 6-foot-4 menace will be champing at the bit to prove himself again and live up to his weighty price tag.
If the expected move does finally materialise, there will be immense pressure on his shoulders to be a success.
Hopefully, for his sake, he’s seen as a lavish signing gone right, much like the dazzling Rutter.
Alongside Strand Larsen: Leeds in talks to sign Farke’s new Calvert-Lewin
This Leeds target would love to have the same impact as Calvert-Lewin.
