Cesc Fabregas wants Leeds United ace at Como as late-window exit still on
Leeds United could commission a number of transfer exits before Monday’s deadline.
Despite the fact Leeds are still pushing to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen after Crystal Palace have swooped in, Daniel Farke may have to concede defeat in his pursuit of the Wolves striker.
If so, then attentions at Elland Road may well turn to what outgoing business they can do before the 2 February deadline.
Leeds have let a couple of players depart West Yorkshire this winter, with Jack Harrison signing on loan with Fiorentina, whilst Harry Gray has joined Rotherham on loan respectively.
Fresh Joel Piroe exit twist emerges involving Cesc Fabregas
As such, it’s been a fairly quiet winter transfer window for Leeds, which has been somewhat surprising given many predicted the Whites to really attack these winter sales.
Farke has his team sitting six points above the relegation zone, and whilst all Leeds fans would’ve taken that at this stage of the season back in August, they’re far from out of the woods just yet.
Leeds’ £40million pursuit of Strand Larsen shows that there is money to spend this winter, but now that he looks set for Selhurst Park, there may not be the time or player(s) to invest that on before the window shuts.
But, as one door has seemingly all but closed on signing one particular striker, another may just have opened for one that’s already in the building: Joel Piroe.
It’s understood that Piroe is desperate to stay and fight for his Leeds place, with it suggested that the 26-year-old forward would prefer to wait until the summer to make a decision on his future.
The Championship’s golden boot winner of last season has been in high demand this winter, with a host of clubs across European football all reportedly keen on securing his signature.
And, in Friday’s print edition of the Daily Record, another contender has emerged for his services, with Cesc Fabregas’ Como revealed to have expressed an interest in signing him.
It’s also stated that Spanish side Real Betis have also registered their interest, but it’s added that Piroe isn’t actively looking nor pushing to leave LS11 this winter, which has been the case throughout.
Wy Leeds would be wise to keep Piroe at this stage
Piroe has put his cards on the table: he wants to stay and help Leeds secure their Premier League status in any way he can.
Farke would be wise to oblige him at this point in the window too, as Lukas Nmecha‘s recent injury has seen his centre-forward ranks be stretched incredibly thin.
Currently, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is his only natural and fit centre-forward, as Noah Okafor is more of a wide forward by trade.
Calvert-Lewin’s injury history is long and well-known, and it would only take him to suffer a setback in that regard and all of a sudden, Farke would be scraping the barrel for strikers.
Therefore, keeping hold of Piroe until the summer could prove very shrewd indeed, as he could be one injury away from having a very big part to play in the second half of the season.
Stay up to date this winter with our Leeds transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Elland Road, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.