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‘This one's still going’: Graham Smyth shares Leeds most likely new striker as Adams deal stalls
Leeds United are still on the lookout for a new striker with just a week to go before the winter window slams shut.
Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth has said that the “best option” for Leeds going forward is the European striker the club has had its eye on through January.
That follows further setbacks in the quest to bring Southampton striker Che Adams to Elland Road.
Southampton rejected a third offer for Adams, which was an initial loan with a £20m option to buy.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl reiterated on Thursday that his player wasn’t going anywhere.
Talking on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast Smyth said, “This European option, this mystery man from the continent, whose name has not appeared anywhere as far as we know, is still an option.
“What Leeds have been doing is working on deals concurrently, this one’s still going and he could be the best option for Leeds going forward.
“You can understand why they want to keep the name under wraps so you don’t alert other clubs to his availability. Their strategy is to work on deals, so you’re far enough down the line that you can get something done and you’ve got options.
“The club is very confident they can bring someone in.”
The mystery European striker has been mentioned for a while now so it would appear that he’s a back-up option that Leeds have been cultivating.
There’s been no clue as to who he is, so we have no idea about his experience or whether he’s ever played in England.
If he hasn’t he would be a risk but it looks like Leeds are exhausting all other options before pulling the trigger and putting this one in the public domain.
The one good thing we can read into this is that it looks like Leeds are concerned that other clubs will want to muscle in on the striker, with promotion rivals in the Championship also looking out for a forward.
Smyth ended his comments on the mystery European striker by saying, “Leeds would be confident if they went head to head-to-head with West Brom or Nottingham Forest that they would be able to convince a player to come to Elland Road.”
With the January window shutting a week from today, his name won’t be a mystery for long unless Leeds can tie up one of their other targets in a hurry.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Sounds like he’s off’, ‘Get it done’ – Many Leeds fans thrilled by update on ‘immense’ forward