Leeds United are not in pursuit of Valentin Castellanos
Leeds United are not currently making a move for New York City’s striker Valentin Castellanos, according to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth.
The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to a number of Premier League clubs in the summer transfer window including the Whites [90min], who are in the market to strengthen their attacking front after narrowly escaping relegation.
However, Smyth, in response to a comment on Twitter, stated that the Argentina U23 international is not on the list at Elland Road, at least for now.
Castellanos joined New York City in January 2019 from CA Torque in a deal worth £383,000 [Transfermarkt].
Since then, he has represented his current club in 126 matches across all competitions, scoring 53 times and providing 23 assists.
Interesting development
Leeds have been in the market to sign a striker in order to provide cover for Patrick Bamford, who missed the majority of the 2021/22 season due to injuries.
One of the names they have been heavily linked with is Castellanos who still has a contract with the MLS club till the summer of 2025.
However, the recent development must be a cause of concern for Whites fans who would be hoping for some kind of reinforcement in the attacking front to ease some the burden on Bamford.
In the 2022 MLS season, the Argentine has scored seven goals and made one assist in 11 appearances. He contributed to 32% of the NYCFC’s goals in 2022 MLS [Transfermarkt].
Even though those performances came in the MLS, which is a far inferior competition compared to the Premier League, those numbers are just too good to ignore for someone who is still young and is likely to improve with time.
In other Leeds United news, one of Mark Jackson’s standout players from the 2021-22 campaign needs to now be fast-tracked to the first team to keep him happy at the club.