Door opens for Leeds to sign striker who’ll fire them to safety, ‘he’ll be good friends with Gabriel Gudmundsson’
One of the biggest issues that Leeds United will need to fix in the January transfer window is their ability to turn chances into goals.
It was something that was endemic at Elland Road during Marcelo Bielsa‘s time at the club, with Patrick Bamford summing up with some truly woeful chance conversion numbers.
However, even though Bamford moved on in the summer and is now at Sheffield United, Leeds‘ age-old problem persists – they’re struggling to stick the ball in the back of the net.
Luckily for Daniel Farke, the January transfer window is now less than three weeks away from opening, giving him the chance to sort out his side’s issues for the second half of the campaign.
Leeds’ goalscoring issues
Although Leeds’ form has improved lately, the Yorkshire giants remain in the Premier League relegation battle and have scored just 19 goals in their opening 15 matches.
Stats by Sofascore show that the Whites have created 32 big chances this term, ranking them 10th in the league. However, they have missed 21 of them, which puts them joint-seventh alongside Newcastle.
Leeds are ninth in the top flight for shots at goal per game (12.3), but their shots-on-target figure per game (3.8) puts them down to joint-13th with fellow strugglers Fulham.
| Tally | Premier League rank | |
| Goals scored | 19 | 14th |
| Big chances | 32 | 10th |
| Big chances missed | 21 | =7th |
| Shots per game | 12.3 | 9th |
| Shots on target per game | 3.8 | =13th |
Clearly, Leeds have an issue in converting chances, and that’s summed up by their xG (expected goals) numbers.
Farke’s men have generated an xG of 20.96 this term, something they’ve underperformed on by 1.96 – this means they’ve scored two fewer goals than they should have.
That has contributed to Leeds’ xPTS (expected points) being 21.43, which is a difference of 6.43 points – the worst in the Premier League aside from dead-and-buried Wolves.
While many would point to Leeds’ defence as the issue for dropping points, Farke has the option to look at the other end of the pitch and start combating his side’s underperformance by simply putting the ball in the back of the net when they’re expected to.
- Read more: Leeds United move for Kalvin Phillips very much on after as Elland Road sources speak out
Leeds told to sign Ayase Ueda, Feyenoord goal machine
European football expert Andy Brassell expects to see Leeds try to sign Ayasa Ueda from Feyenoord in the January transfer window.
Ueda, 27, has scored a stunning 18 goals in 15 Eredivisie games this season for the Rotterdam club, a figure not beaten outside of Europe’s top leagues.
Brassell believes it’s a no-brainer for Leeds to snap up Ueda, especially because he could link up well with attack-minded left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson.
“If you look at the Leeds full-backs as well, if I’m Ueda, I’d go in and make friends with Gabriel Gudmundsson on the first day,” Brassell told talkSPORT.
“There are so many opportunities for him – Leeds is just one example.
“I’m sure when it comes to January, there will be a couple of bottom-half Premier League clubs that have a dart for him.
“I’d be really surprised if that wasn’t the case.”
What’s the situation with Ueda’s future at Feyenoord?
Liverpool have been linked with Ueda. However, it’s a rather obvious link to make considering that under-pressure Reds manager Arne Slot signed the Japan international during his time at De Kuip.
Also, Japanese football journalist Shohei Baba has reported that while Slot is a fan of Ueda, Liverpool do not have any plans to sign him next month.
It is understood that Ueda’s firmly focused on playing plenty of football ahead of Japan’s World Cup campaign in North America next summer.
There’s no doubt that he would continue to play a lot at Elland Road if he was to make that move.
The former Kashima Antlers striker is contracted to Feyenoord until 2028 and as per transfermarkt, his market value is around £13.1million.
That’s no doubt an affordable sum for Leeds, who need to beef up their striker options as soon as possible because while Dominic Calvert-Lewin is starting to hit his stride, history suggests that fans shouldn’t get too comfortable seeing the ex-Everton star in their starting line-up.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @motleedsnews