The January transfer window isn’t a million miles away for Leeds United and others, so the focus has to be for Daniel Farke to ensure he gets some additions lined up to take on the promotion run-in with full momentum.
A win over QPR takes Leeds into this international break largely content with how the campaign is panning out, two points off the top of the table in third – the same position that Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds were in after 15 games in the 19/20 season.
Daniel Farke will be eager to avoid the pitfalls that caused his side’s demise last season, and a way to navigate them might be by finding recruits in the new year.
Could Leeds sign a new striker to add more firepower?
The relentless hard work of Mateo Joseph followed by the elegant finish of Joel Piroe off the bench brought Leeds the best of both worlds against QPR, sealing a 2-0 win style thanks to the Dutchman’s calmness in the box.
However, there’s a selection dilemma plaguing every lineup Farke names, with who should play up front for him.
For us, the QPR result only solidifies the idea that Piroe’s talents are best suited to coming off the bench in order to take advantage of the space left by the opposition, which is created by Joseph’s work in the first hour-or-so of games.
What that leaves is an issue that could be resolved in the transfer market, with Leeds perhaps exploring the possibility of finding a neat middle ground between Piroe’s superb finishing and Joseph’s superb ‘number nine’ work – is there possibility to find an alternative option in the market that can do a bit of both?
Who should start up front for Leeds?
Patrick Bamford
Joel Piroe
Mateo Joseph
Leeds must follow Ipswich Town strategy in 24/25 January window
Pictured above are two of the four transfers Ipswich completed during the January transfer:
- Ali Al-Hamadi, striker – Wimbledon, circa. £1million
- Lewis Travis, midfielder – Blackburn Rovers, loan
- Jeremy Sarmiento, winger – Brighton, loan
- Kieffer Moore, striker – Bournemouth, loan
None of those signings looked like they’d strike fear into promotion rivals in the second half of the season, but they bulked up Kieran McKenna’s options in three crucial areas of his squad that were already performing remarkably anyway.
Between those four players, McKenna added 14 goals and four assists to his side to help them get over the line, and that sort of improvement in output would be the difference for Leeds.
Of course, you’re not asking a striker to come in and fire in that many, but combined with the possibility of an attacking midfielder with an eye for an assist, you could add the threat from the bench that might tip Leeds from promotion hopefuls up to a sure thing.
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