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Leeds United facing West Ham, Newcastle United competition in pursuit of Europe-based striker

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Leeds United could have a battle on their hands if they are to complete the signing of Basel striker Arthur Cabral.

That’s after a report from Goal claimed that Premier League rivals West Ham and Newcastle United,have made contact to express interest in signing the 23-year-old.

Since joining Basel from Palmeiras in his native Brazil in 2019, Cabral has been in outstanding goalscoring form.

The striker has scored 63 goals in 101 appearances in all competitions for the Swiss giants, which is starting to attract plenty of attention from elsewhere.

It has previously been reported that Leeds are keen to secure the services of Cabral once the window opens in January, although it seems there are other Premier League sides who are keen to beat them to it.

According to this latest update, Newcastle are aware of Basel’s £12.8million asking price for his services, and are ready to make the club an offer worth somewhere around that figure.

West Ham meanwhile, are also said to have made contact over a deal for Cabral, who is reportedly also attracting interest from Barcelona.

There are 18 months remaining on Cabral’s contract with Basel, securing his future in Switzerland until the end of next season.

This could be a rather frustrating update from a Leeds United perspective.

The Whites have struggled badly for an attacking threat in the injury-enforced absence of Patrick Bamford this season, so the addition of another attacking option such as Cabral could have been a welcome one.

However, given the financial strength that Newcastle now have, and the fact that Barcelona and West Ham can give him the chance to compete for European football, it could be hard to tempt the Brazilian to move to Elland Road.

Never the less, a striker still remains a priority for Leeds, so they may have to start looking at other potential attacking recruits, with the window due to open next month.

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UCLan Sports Journalism graduate. Have been working for Leeds All Over since summer 2020, and can only be found writing on Football League World.