Contact made: Leeds step up pursuit of centre-forward at crisis club – report
Leeds United might be able to sign striker target Rodrigo for less than £30million from Valencia this summer after making contact with the Spanish giants, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reports that Marcelo Bielsa wants to add more firepower to his attack before the start of next season and Leeds are now working through a list of centre-forwards who they can sign.
It is understood that Rodrigo has been made available by Valencia, who face a cash crisis after failing to pay some of their staff from June.
Rodrigo’s market value is said to be £30million but if Leeds make a “reasonable offer” to Valencia, the Spanish club could be willing to reach a compromise.
Spain international Rodrigo scored seven goals and supplied 11 assists in 34 appearances across all competitions for Valencia last season.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has recently said on his personal Twitter account that the Brazilian-born striker is “fast, goalscorer, hard worker without the ball” and would be a “perfect” signing for Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds need to sign a new centre-forward before the start of next season.
Patrick Bamford is the club’s only natural striker in the senior squad at the moment.
While we all know that Bielsa doesn’t overly rely on strikers to get goals, Bamford has just one goal in his 27 Premier League appearances in his career to date.
Rodrigo also had a season in the Premier League back in 2010/11 when he scored once in 21 appearances on loan at Bolton.
However, since that failed spell in the North-West, Rodrigo has gone on to become a prolific scorer in La Liga and in the Champions League.
In other Leeds United news, Andrea Radrizzani is personally involved in this Leeds bid to sign a Serie A forward.