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Leeds United want to sign £50,000-a-week Rabbi Matondo as £3.4m transfer reveal emerges
Leeds United are in the hunt to sign Schalke forward Rabbi Matondo after he snubbed a permanent move to Cercle Brugge, according to BILD.
Matondo, 21, spent the 2021/22 season on loan at the Belgian outfit but the German newspaper reports on their website on 14 June that they won’t exercise an option to buy the Welsh international permanently for £3million due to his wage demands.
It is understood that now, the Liverpool-born attacker is wanted elsewhere with Leeds, Brentford, Nottingham Forest and French trio Lens, Brest and Troyes all keen on him.
BILD adds that Schalke signed Matondo from Man City in January 2019 for £8.6million and on a contract worth almost £50,000-a-week.
He’s viewed as a flop at the Gelsenkirchen-based club, who want just £3.4million for the attacker now.
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If Leeds are going to sign any more players this summer, they need to be players who’ll go into Jesse Marsch’s starting line-up because otherwise, what’s the point?
Yes, we need strength in depth. But that depth should be gained from upgrading the existing players rather than signing back-up options for them.
Matondo is a versatile forward who can play up front or on the wing.
In his loan spell at Cercle Brugge, he played 27 times in all competitions, mainly on the left wing, scoring 10 goals and supplying two assists in the process.
But that doesn’t suggest to us that he’d be a great signing.
If he’s on £50,000-a-week at Schalke and has one year left on his contract, why would he give that up?
If he leaves the German club, surely he’ll want those wages to at least be matched otherwise he might as well see out that deal in the Bundesliga.
Because for Leeds, there’s no way we’d be paying anywhere near that much for a player who’d more than likely be behind Jack Harrison and Daniel James in the pecking order.
We can do better than this. Move on.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have agreed a deal in principle to sign this player with a medical scheduled next week.