Leeds: Major Hwang January transfer claim

Leeds United could revisit their interest in Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan in the future, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The Whites’ efforts to sign Hwang from their Premier League rivals continued until the final hours of Transfer Deadline Day, as per Sky Sports News. Bruno Lage’s side apparently wanted £25m to part with the South Korean, who played under Jesse Marsch at Red Bull Salzburg.

In the end, the Whites did manage to land a striker for a much smaller fee, paying FC Zurich £3.8m for 18-year-old Wilfried Gnonto.

Another player that they pursued was Bamba Dieng of Marseille, but he snubbed them late on to try and join Nice, only to then fail a medical (via Ben Jacobs).

The latest

Jones says that Dieng ticked all the boxes for Leeds but believes that Victor Orta and co have alternatives in mind. They could ‘come back’ to the table for Hwang, as well as another summer target in PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo.

Jones told GiveMeSport: “Fulham moved on from Dieng and that gave Leeds a pretty free run at him.

“He was the ideal player to fit the project as he still had plenty of scope to be moulded into what Marsch was looking for in a forward. Hwang proved too tough but it is one they might come back to along with Gakpo.”

The verdict

Even though there has been no concrete movement, this prospective transfer still feels realistic.

Gnonto is still so young that Leeds might require a more senior addition too, with Marsch previously raising doubts over the teenager’s immediate readiness for Premier League football.

Furthermore, Wolves have recruited in forward areas this summer, bringing in Goncalo Guedes, Sasa Kalajdzic and, pending a medical on Tuesday, Diego Costa.

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Although Kalajdzic has sustained a serious injury, Hwang may still be pushed down the pecking order, and that could be conducive to a move away from Molineux.

Leeds are under no illusions as to the threat he can pose after he scored in a 1-1 draw between the two teams at Elland Road last season, while the South Korean has also earned plenty of praise from pundits.

Ian Wright says that the 26-year-old has ‘got everything‘ one would look for in a striker, while Kevin Campbell has called him ‘dangerous’ and ‘very lively’, so hopefully the Whites can make another go at trying to lure Hwang to Yorkshire.