Daniel Farke demand becomes clear as Leeds United pounce to get their man
Daniel Farke wanted a free agent who could cover multiple areas in his squad at Leeds United, and Josuha Guilavogui looks like his man.
Guilavogui, who has now signed a contract at Elland Road ahead of a formal announcement [Fabrizio Romano, 23 October], has bags of top-level experience as a defensive midfielder, but can crucially also operate at centre-half.
Cheikhou Kouyate – the same age as Guilavogui at 34 – was on the verge of becoming Leeds’ high-profile free agent signing as emergency midfield cover, but failed a medical [talkSPORT].
Kouyate shares not just the age profile similarity with Guilavogui but also that key multi-positional nous, having filled in extensively in the backline for his former Premier League employers.
It has become very clear that Farke was after a midfielder of this exact profile, who can add experience as a defender as another option.
Graham Smyth shared on X [23 October], that the “boxes are ticked” for the boss.
Leeds United to sign Josuha Guilavogui
It appears now as though Leeds can finally simmer in the free agent market.
This approach is risk-free in terms of transfer fees but sees players often coming at a cost of premium signing-on fees, wage packages and a lack of match sharpness as a result.
Leeds were always clear that they were looking across several options, which has been backed up by their ability to sign Guilavogui – formerly of Wolfsburg, St Etienne and with seven France caps – just days after the Kouyate deal fell through.
The Whites were linked with a move for former Arsenal man Francis Coquelin, but interest did not appear to be concrete in a player with far fewer games in defence under his belt than the alternatives.
Guilavogui adds to just Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell as Farke’s ready senior midfield options, while Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon and the injured Max Wober are the only first-team centre-halves on the books.
In other Leeds news, Lee Hendrie laid into the team despite their win over Watford.
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