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It was clear Leeds United were looking to sign a left-winger last summer.
Noah Okafor has that position nailed down under Daniel Farke. But behind the Swiss there is a big drop-off in quality.
Jean-Matteo Bahoya was the player the Whites eventually signed. We loaned the Frenchman on deadline day, but we have an obligation to buy for £25.7million should he make a certain number of appearances for us.
However, at one point it looked like it would be very different. Mykhailo Mudryk was heavily linked with a loan move to Elland Road following the end of his doping suspension.
Ultimately, the winger ended up joining Tottenham on loan from Chelsea instead of us. Now, it appears as if the 49ers dodged a bullet regarding the potential transfer.
Mykailo Mudryk injury troubles continue ahead of Leeds United clash
Speaking in his press conference yesterday, Roberto De Zerbi said that Mudryk, alongside three of his teammates, will miss the trip up north to West Yorkshire due to injury.
So far, the 25-year-old has only played 16 minutes for Tottenham (Sofascore). All of these minutes came in a cameo appearance from the bench during a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest at the start of September.
It was no surprise to see the Whites miss out on Mudryk when it became apparent that Spurs were willing to include an option to buy in the loan deal for the Ukrainian for an eye-watering £75million.
Obviously we can’t afford to pay this sort of fee for a player as a club right now. But it’s not like we’re missing out on anything when considering the start to life Mudryk has had in North London.
There were also reports of Chelsea wanting to include financial punishments in the loan deal for Leeds if Mudryk did not play. Knowing how hard some players find it to break into the team under Farke, this could’ve ended up costing us a fortune!
However, these days it’s just another reason to laugh when looking back on the deal that never materialised over the summer.
We need another winger next summer
Regardless of whether we sign Bahoya permanently, I still think we need to go big on another winger next summer.
By now, we know Okafor struggles to complete the full 90 minutes. He also tends to pick up little injuries here and there.
Our options at the minute, you ask?
Well, Brenden Aaronson isn’t even a natural left winger, and he’s not good enough. We’ve already seen that Dan James isn’t good enough for the Premier League, too. Furthermore, it’s clear Farke does not think Bahoya can contribute for us regularly in the top flight.
Over on the right wing, aside from James, Harry Wilson is the only natural fit in that position. He tends to drift inside into pockets of space.
Signing another winger who Farke trusts to play on either flank would dramatically elevate our squad. Ideally, they’d be pacy and direct like Okafor, but also possess quality. We lack that profile in our squad aside from our Swiss winger.
