By Sam Stone

25th Jun, 2022 | 11:10pm

Leeds United must avoid move for Otavio and prioritise Charles De Ketelaere and Cody Gakpo

Leeds United have been linked with a trio of attackers from the continent in recent days with Jesse Marsch looking to replace Raphinha if and when he departs.

FootMercato journalist Sebastien Denis reported on Wednesday 22 June, that Leeds are in “hot pursuit” of PSV Eindhoven 23-year-old winger Cody Gakpo.

That was then followed on by The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano reporting via his personal Twitter account that Leeds are monitoring Club Brugge 21-year-old forward Charles De Ketelaere.

Finally, it was reported by Portuguese news outlet OJOGO [22 June] that Leeds have had a £25.8 million bid rejected for Porto’s 27-year-old attacker Otavio.

With it clear that Marsch wants to bolster his attack, which one of the three is statistically the best signing?

Firstly, what is abundantly clear is that Leeds must avoid a move for Otavio.

The attacker is 27 and will provide little to no sell-on value for the Whites should he make the move to Elland Road.

Statistically, the attacker doesn’t stand up to Leeds’ other attacking targets.

As per Wyscout, the 27-year-old has fewer goals, lower goals per game, a lower XG per 90 and a much lower shot accuracy rate compared to Leeds’ other two targets.

Considering his age and potential price tag, Otavio is an option that Leeds should stay clear of.

However, De Ketelaere and Gakpo are players that would be huge statements of intent from Victor Orta and Marsch.

Both players have racked up some impressive statistics this season which would certainly add potency to Leeds going forward.

Crucially, both De Ketelaere and Gakpo possess the ability to play in a variety of positions across the front line which could benefit Marsch’s 4-2-2-2 system massively.

They could either play as one of the inverted wingers behind the front two, or feature in one of the striking positions.

As per Wyscout, both players are a constant threat throughout a match with De Ketelaere averaging 5.11 successful attacking actions per 90 and Gakpo averaging 7.09.

Both have impressive goalscoring records this season in all competitions however, Gakpo edges the Club Brugge man by averaging a goal every other game.

Furthermore, Gakpo’s expected XG per 90, is only marginally less than his actual output, which indicates that this season is not a fluke occurrence.

The same can be said for De Ketelaere with his XG per 90 [0.26] only marginally below his actual output [0.35].

However, the PSV man certainly looks to be more of a goal threat than 21-year-old De Ketelaere, with Gakpo averaging a better shot per game [3.44] than De Ketelaere [1.83].

Despite both players amassing some good assist statistics in the 2021/22 season, Gakpo again comes out on top when it comes to expected assists and assists per 90.

Both players would superb additions at Elland Road, however, 23-year-old Gakpo does look the more rounded attacker on paper.

However, 21-year-old De Ketelaere is a much coveted forward who also has boasted some impressive numbers this season.

Leeds fans should watch their futures with interest.

In other Leeds United news, Victor Orta was spotted jetting out of the UK with Phil Hay sharing that a transfer is being lined up at Elland Road