Leeds United will be in the market to improve Daniel Farke‘s attacking options in the summer transfer window ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Football Insider reported in May that the Whites are not planning to build their attack around Joel Piroe, as they have doubts over his ability to make the step up.
Despite a haul of 19 goals in 46 Championship matches, there is no guarantee that the Dutch centre-forward will be good enough to be the starting number nine in the Premier League.
Leeds are now being linked with an interest in a Championship striker who could come in as an upgrade on the former Swansea City forward.
Leeds in the race to sign Championship star
According to Football League World, Leeds United are one of the teams in the race to sign Norwich City centre-forward before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Whites and Burnley, who were both promoted to the Premier League in the automatic promotion spots, are eyeing up a move for the USA international.
It states that the former Werder Bremen marksman, who was signed by Farke for the Canaries back in 2021, is ‘increasingly likely’ to move on from Carrow Road this summer.
Foot Italia reporter Ben Horlock recently claimed that Fiorentina are also interested in the striker, who is valued at a minimum fee of £21m by Norwich.
Why Leeds should sign Josh Sargent
The Whites should push to sign the American number nine for several reasons, including the fact that he was signed by and worked with Farke at Norwich, which means that the striker already knows how the manager works and that the German boss likes the player’s attributes.
Leeds should also swoop for the £21m-rated dynamo because he could come in as an upgrade on Piroe for the newly-promoted side ahead of next term.
Sargent, who was hailed as “deceptively quick” by teammate Jack Stacey, scored 0.5 goals per game, with 15, in the Championship this season, compared to Piroe’s 0.4 per game for the Whites.
The Norwich striker also created 3.17 xA in 32 matches, compared to the Dutchman’s 3.32 xA in 46 games, which suggests that he could provide a greater threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals in the number nine position.
|
24/25 Championship |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
46 |
32 |
|
Fouls won per 90 |
0.44 |
1.01 |
|
Duels won per 90 |
2.24 |
3.20 |
|
Duel success rate |
27% |
43% |
|
Aerial duels won per 90 |
0.9 |
0.93 |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
21% |
36% |
|
Stats via FotMob |
||
As you can see in the table above, Sargent would also be a huge upgrade on Piroe when it comes to his play out of possession as a physical force for his side.
These statistics show that the Canaries forward is much better than the Leeds number nine at holding off defenders on the ground, helping him to win fouls and duels, whilst also being more effective at winning aerial battles with centre-backs.
Sargent could, therefore, be more suited to a Leeds team that will be battling against relegation from the Premier League next season, because he is more likely to be an effective outball for the side, winning duels, headers, and fouls to alleviate pressure at times.
Add in that he scored more goals and provided more xA per game than Piroe in the 2024/25 Championship season and you have a target who appears to be a big upgrade on what Farke currently has at his disposal.
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