Multiple members of Daniel Farke’s Leeds United squad will surely be concerned about their lack of game time recently.
Against Bournemouth, Melvin Bard was again an unused substitute last weekend.
Last week, Farke made it clear that Jean-Matteo Bahoya will have to be patient when it comes to potentially playing more minutes too.
But a player who has been a backup option pretty much ever since he signed for Leeds in the summer of 2025 has been tipped for a move to the Championship, according to a former Premier League golden boot winner.
Kevin Phillips urges Southampton to sign Leeds United ace
Lukas Nmecha’s contract is running out at the end of the season. Whilst reports state that we may have an option to extend Nmecha’s deal, his future remains uncertain.
However, former Southampton striker and Premier League golden boot winner Kevin Phillips has urged his former side to sign Nmecha in January.
“I think Nmecha would bring quality to the team. We know he can score goals. I think he just needs a run in a side,” Phillips said, as quoted by the Daily Echo.
“Nmecha’s been linked with many big clubs. If Southampton secure his services, I think with him and (Cyle) Larin you’ve got two really top-quality strikers.”
Recent reports from elsewhere linked Nmecha with a move back to the Bundesliga in the summer. However, if Southampton could sign him in January, it would be a major cue for the Championship outfit.
But from a Leeds perspective, I don’t think we should or will let him go in January. That is, unless someone submits an offer we’d be foolish not to accept.
Lukas Nmecha has been the perfect backup striker for Leeds
He isn’t always the prettiest watch. However, there’s no doubting that Nmecha has been an effective backup for us when he’s been needed.
As a Premier League team that is only just in its second season back in the top flight, it would be hard to find a better striker who is seemingly willing to be a backup for us than Nmecha.
Last season in the Premier League, he scored six goals. This is a respectable tally when considering that just 10 of his 31 Premier League appearances were starts.
I do think by the time next summer comes around, it will be the right decision to let him go if we are still a mid-table Premier League side and he wants to leave. I would be happy to keep him as a third-choice option, but I doubt Nmecha would agree to this.
If we want to push up the division, we need more firepower, but in the here and now, Nmecha does a solid job for us as our second-choice striker.
He’s certainly too good to be a third-choice striker if we sign another forward next summer. I think Nmecha could easily move back to the Bundesliga or a newly promoted Premier League side and play pretty regularly.
However, I can’t see us going big on a striker in January, so let’s just keep Nmecha, even if Southampton want him. I’d rather let him walk out of the door just as he arrived, as a free agent.
