Douglas names £70k-a-wk ace he believes would’ve helped Leeds go up after reported Jan approach
Former Leeds United midfielder Jonathan Douglas is a firm believer that if Andre Gray joined his old club in January, they would have had promotion in the bag.
Phil Hay reported via a live Q&A session on The Athletic website last month that Leeds had approached Watford with an enquiry about Gray, 28, but were rebuffed by the Premier League club in their advances.
Leeds tried frantically to sign a new striker last month and a number of names were linked with moves to Elland Road before Jean-Kevin Augustin eventually signed on loan from RB Leipzig after his temporary stay at Monaco came to an early end.
Augustin is yet to start for Leeds and has only made a couple of appearances off the bench due to him not being at the level that Marcelo Bielsa desires.
And Douglas has suggested that a proven Championship goalscorer like Gray could have been a better option for Leeds in their bid to secure promotion back to the Premier League.
“Maybe they should have taken a player in that knows the league,” Douglas told talkSPORT broadcaster Ian Abrahams, as shown via his personal Instagram account.
“I’ve heard stuff like Andre Gray was linked with them and I think if they had of got a player with his quality, I think if they had of got him, he’s fully fit and ready to go and that would have helped them get promotion.”
What is the obsession with players having to know a league to be able to perform in it? Even players who’ve been previously on fire in a certain league could struggle at another club. Every transfer is a risk.
Helder Costa and Barry Douglas both shone in the Championship for Wolves but neither have met those levels since joining Leeds.
And then you look at a team like West Brom, who are top of the table with Grady Diangana, Matheus Pereira and Filip Krovinovic playing well there and none of them had any Championship experience prior to joining the Black Country club.
Gray has an impressive record in the Championship with 41 goals in 88 second-tier appearances but we cannot just say that the £70,000-a-week Watford ace [Spotrac] would have guaranteed Leeds promotion if he headed to Elland Road last month. There’s no way anyone can assume that.
In other Leeds United news, Lee Johnson has suggested why Leeds’ form has taken a plunge.