Leeds United supporters in the Transfer Tavern are growing increasingly frustrated with their club given the Championship side have yet to appoint a successor to former head coach Paul Heckingbottom.
The Yorkshire giants parted company with the 40-year-old at the start of June after just four months in charge at Elland Road, with the ex-Barnsley chief only mustering four victories from his 16 matches in charge. And attentions since then have been turning to who the Whites may appoint as his replacement, but ten days on from Heckingbottom’s departure, the head coach role remains vacant.
And while some of our resident Leeds fans are somewhat concerned by that, others are turning their attentions towards the summer transfer window, and as such are likely to be intrigued by recent reports linking their club with a move for Derby County’s Matej Vydra.
And were the Yorkshire heavyweights to indeed seal a deal for the £7.2 million-rated striking hotshot (as per Transfermarkt), it would finally turn Leeds into genuine Championship promotion contenders.
Ultimately, 26-year-old Vydra more than proved his worth to the Rams this season with an impressive 21 goals in 40 appearances for the East Midlands giants, in turn finishing as the division’s top goal-scorer ahead of Aston Villa’s Lewis Grabban.
And with a mightily impressive 67 goals in 192 games at Championship level, it’s clear that the Czech Republic international is as good as anybody in front of goal at second tier level, having bagged prolifically for pretty much every Championship side he has played for, with the exception of Reading.
And while Leeds weren’t the worst side in the second tier in front of goal this season, having scored 59 goals in their 46 Championship games, their need for a natural goal-scorer is pretty evident given just two players, Kemar Roofe and Pierre-Michel Lasogga, reached double figures this time round.
And with the latter only on loan from German side Hamburg for the entirety of the season, and thus unlikely to return to Elland Road next term, that is a substantial amount of goals that Leeds will be missing next time round, and if they are serious about challenging for promotion, those goals simply have to be replaced – Vydra could do just that.
Yes, it may well cost Leeds in excess of £10 million to lure the Czech star to the club this summer, but it’s the sort of money that may need to be spent if the Yorkshire giants are to indeed challenge for a return to the Premier League, 14 years after they were relegated.
And for £10 million, and the possible rewards they could reap from such a purchase, it could well turn out to be an absolute bargain, and one that fires them into Championship promotion contention next season.
Leeds fans… what do you think? Let us know!
