Leeds United want to sign AFC Wimbledon striker Ali Al-Hamadi in record-breaking transfer
Leeds United want to sign AFC Wimbledon striker Ali Al-Hamadi in January after his impressive form in League 2, according to South London Press.
Writing on their website (3 November), the news outlet report that the Iraq international has attracted interest from the Whites and Sunderland in recent weeks after notching four goals and five assists this season for the Dons.
And AFC Wimbledon are open to a sale if they receive a record amount for the 21-year-old, meaning any buying club will need to pay in excess of £1.2m in January.
“Championship side Leeds United have been keeping tabs on AFC Wimbledon forward Ali Al-Hamadi, the South London Press understands,” they wrote.
“Wimbledon want a club-record fee of their phoenix era – which would mean exceeding the £1.2million they received from Qatari side Al-Wakrah last winter for Ayoub Assal – if they were to part ways with Al-Hamadi.
“The striker will have 18 months to run on his contract at the start of January.”
Talent
Leeds have been very good at noticing talent early on in their career and helping them develop to become first-team aces and this could be another situation where that is the case.
Wilfried Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville and Illan Meslier are all examples of that being the case with minimal expenditure, and the club made it into the Premier League during that period too.
Al-Hamadi is clearly too good for League Two right now and a step up to the Championship would be a great opportunity to show his levels while also offering great cover and depth for the squad.
With the future of Gnonto and Summerville up in the air currently, Al-Hamadi could prove to be a shrewd bit of business where even if he didn’t end up making it we could make a decent profit in years to come.
It’s certainly an exciting deal and one to pay attention to in the coming weeks, although it would likely be towards the end of the window as he is set to appear in the Asia Cup during January.
In other Leeds news, cryptic social media post provides early team news ahead of Leicester clash.