Leeds United have made strengthening their defence a priority during the summer transfer window ahead of their return to the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign.
Lucas Perri has been signed to be the club’s new number one, Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw have come in to compete at centre-back, and Gabriel Gudmundsson has replaced Junior Firpo at left-back.
The Championship champions have also swooped to add defensive midfielders Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff to their squad to provide the defence with more strength in front of them.
However, Stach showed against AC Milan on Saturday that he does have more to his game than just being a towering defensive presence in midfield, with a stunning strike in the 1-1 draw.
Daniel Farke, though, does now need to focus on bringing in attacking players to ensure that there is enough firepower in the team to win matches in the Premier League.
As part of that, Leeds need to find a creative attacker who can unlock opposition defences on a regular basis, which essentially means that they need their next Pablo Hernandez.
Why Leeds need their next Pablo Hernandez
During his time at Elland Road, the Spanish forward, who played centrally as a number ten or out wide on the right, provided immense quality at the top end of the pitch.
Hernandez really emerged as a superstar when Marcelo Bielsa arrived at the helm in the summer of 2018, as the Argentine’s system seemed to get the best out of him.
The former Valencia and Swansea man became a cult hero at Elland Road with his majestic performances on the pitch, consistently unlocking opposition defences with his technical quality and wonderful eye for a pass.
Hernandez was an attacking midfielder who offered a big threat as a scorer, with 21 goals in two Championship seasons under Bielsa, but his biggest strength was his creativity.
|
Pablo Hernandez |
18/19 Championship |
19/20 Championship |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
39 |
36 |
|
Goals |
12 |
9 |
|
Assists |
12 |
9 |
|
Big chances created |
16 |
13 |
|
Key passes per game |
3.0 |
2.3 |
As you can see in the table above, the Spanish whiz created at least 2.3 chances per game on average across two seasons in the second tier and created a whopping 29 ‘big chances’ for his side.
Meanwhile, no current Leeds player averaged more than 1.6 key passes per game in the Championship in the 2024/25 campaign, which does not suggest that they are likely to be hugely creative after the step up to the Premier League.
That is why the Whites should be in the market to sign an attacking midfielder who can be a creative spark in the final third for Farke’s team this coming season.
Leeds considering bid for £25m attacking midfielder
According to GIVEMESPORT, Leeds United are looking at a potential deal to sign a number ten who could arrive as their next Pablo Hernandez, Bilal El Khannouss.
The report claims that the Whites are ‘considering’ a bid to sign the Leicester City attacking midfielder before the end of the summer transfer window.
It adds that the Morocco international is expected to move on from the King Power in the coming weeks, with Leeds, Spurs, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, and Bayer Leverkusen all eyeing him up.
GIVEMESPORT reveals that the 21-year-old star has a £22.5m release clause in his contract with the Foxes, but clubs are willing to pay a higher overall fee in order to secure more favourable payment terms, possibly with a lower upfront fee and more add-ons.
The outlet states that the higher fee could be in the region of £25m, and it now remains to be seen whether or not Leeds are prepared to pay that much to bring him to Elland Road to bolster their squad.
Why Leeds should sign Bilal El Khannouss
Farke should push the board to get a deal done for El Khannouss before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September because he could be the Pablo Hernandez-esque figure that they need at the top end of the pitch.
Despite Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League last season, the Morocco international showed that he has the technical and creative qualities to make an impact at that level.
The £25m-rated star, who was dubbed a “sensational prospect” by analyst Ben Mattinson, created eight ‘big chances’ for his teammates in just 27 starts in the Premier League for the Foxes.
In their last respective seasons in the Premier League, Dan James created three, Wilfried Gnonto created three, Brenden Aaronson created five, and Jack Harrison created six.
This suggests that El Khannouss has the quality to step in as Farke’s most creative attacking midfielder or winger straight away, as the current options at the club have not proven themselves to be particularly adept at consistently creating chances in the Premier League.
|
24/25 Premier League |
Bilal El Khannous per 90 |
Percentile rank vs AMs & wingers |
|---|---|---|
|
xAG |
0.19 |
Top 46% |
|
Assists |
0.12 |
Bottom 35% |
|
Passes attempted |
43.85 |
Top 15% |
|
Progressive passes |
5.28 |
Top 14% |
|
Passes into the final third |
3.67 |
Top 10% |
|
Key passes |
1.73 |
Top 37% |
|
Through balls |
0.45 |
Top 16% |
As you can see in the table above, the Leicester starlet ranked highly in a host of creative metrics in the top-flight last season, but was let down by poor finishing from his teammates to end up in the bottom 35% of his positional peers for assists.
El Khannouss, who predominantly plays as a number ten, could be the creative presence that Leeds are currently lacking in their squad, given his ability to progress play with passes into the third third, with key passes and through balls to set up his teammates.
He has the potential to emerge as the new Pablo Hernandez at Elland Road, as an attacking midfielder who could be the creative hub of the team, and has plenty of room for improvement as a young player.
That is why the Whites should be pushing to get a deal done for him as quickly as possible, because El Khannouss could fill a big creative hole in the squad and still has the potential to get even better in the future.
