The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Monday 18th August)

Good Morning. It's Monday 18th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road

Leeds reach agreement for Okafor signing

Leeds United have reportedly reached an agreement to sign AC Milan forward Noah Okafor, according to journalist Luca Bianchin. The 25-year-old Swiss international is known for his clinical finishing, strong dribbling, and ability to press effectively. Although versatile, Okafor predominantly plays as an inverted winger on the left flank.

Bianchin confirms that Leeds have reached an agreement with AC Milan, and are now aiming to finalise a permanent deal with the Serie A club. While Okafor can play in various attacking positions, his decisive nature in front of goal and ability to find space within the box make him particularly effective as a striker too.

The signing of Okafor could be considered a gamble for the Whites, given his fitness concerns, but time is running out. A fee in the region of £12.5m looks to have been accepted. It will be interesting to see what now happens with Largie Ramazani, who has been linked with a season long loan at Rangers.

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El Khannouss hopes fade

Leeds United’s early optimism in the race to sign highly-rated midfielder Bilal El Khannouss are rapidly evaporating as competition threatens to derail their plans. The Whites were understood to be initial frontrunners, having held early talks with the 21-year-old and his camp, but their pursuit has now fallen silent.

According to journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Leeds have gone "very quiet" regarding the Moroccan international, with a host of established top flight clubs now leading the way. Newcastle United have now formally entered the race, but it is Crystal Palace who have emerged as the firm favourites to secure his signature.

The South London club reportedly view the gifted midfielder as a direct replacement for Eberechi Eze, who is widely expected to complete a high-profile move to North London this week. Crucially, Palace holds a significant advantage that Leeds cannot match: European football. Their FA Cup victory provides a direct route to the UEFA Europa League, a prestigious platform that presents a major draw for an ambitious talent like El Khannouss.

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A Summer of Shrewd Business at Elland Road

The Leeds United recruitment team deserves significant credit for their summer haul so far. In a transfer window defined by inflated fees, they have strategically brought in eight new players for a total of just £80m. It's testament to Adam Underwood and his team for their prudent financial management, especially when compared to the spending of newly promoted rivals Sunderland (£142m) and Burnley (£110m). Leeds has built squad depth and addressed key areas without breaking the bank.

Despite this impressive business, sections of fans still grow restless. By narrowly missing out on Igor Paixao,
many Whites fans have developed a thirst for a big-money summer arrival. However, the reality of the situation is challenging; convincing top-tier talent to join what many outside observers perceive as a potential relegation battle is an uphill struggle.

Perhaps Leeds have learnt a lesson from the likes of Burnley, who have consistently played top-flight football since the 2016/17 season (seven seasons). Despite often getting relegated, they usually find themselves promoted at the first attempt. The key difference between the two clubs is that Burnley prepare for the possibility of relegation, while for Leeds, the topic has often been taboo.

While the Elland Road hierarchy may have been naive in the past, this window signals a shift towards a smarter, more sustainable strategy. By spending conservatively, they have not only strengthened the team for the current campaign but have also astutely set capital aside, ensuring they are ready to pounce on a big-money signing if and when the right opportunity arises.

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Morning all

Transfers - I think we all appreciated the initial shrewd signings but because we were feeling they were ‘cheap’ as the marquee ones were next.

We missed out on Paxaio but then another shrewd signing in DCL not the one we all expected. It’s also gone very quiet and here we are at our season opener and if we look at just the attacking half of the field, we’ve lost Solomon and brought in two injury prone freebies

We’ve added depth and very little first names on the team sheet, we’re very thin at the FB position, we can ill afford many injuries and have a team full of players who spend more time on the treatment table than Bamford

 

Regular starters signed will be Stach, Gudmundsson, Perri and Bijol. I guess Longstaff will start plenty of games too.

Thats close to half a new starting XI with a couple of weeks of the window left. Okafor would start on the left most games. If DCL is fit, im afraid he's the best striker at the club.

 

Gudmundsson we have no alternative, but I counted him for today's opener. Longstaff might start plenty as he adds the depth when someone is injured but he certainly shouldn't be a first name down. Bijol for Struijk when he is available, at a push that makes it 4 first names down but when you look at Perri and Gudmundsson it would be pretty dire if they were not first names down, they have zero competition

 

All gone quiet yet again on the striker front and Farke himself was getting twitchy about needing more forward players, and Okafor is a gamble and there should have been no need to gamble as there were plenty of wingers available and think Bakwa is still not gone anywhere? But reeks of strikers named but no bods gone in for any of them, except Muniz, Icelandic, Serbian, Italian,Greek, Portuguese, Brazilian, Columbian, French, Spaniard……….

 

I’m wondering if we’ve struggled to get a few names in as we refused relegation release clauses or at least clauses we deemed unacceptable

Or we just haven’t a large enough pot to piss in

 

Longstaff needs to start a good amount of games he's in my Fantasy team for work

 

If think the thing is that thev 49ers don't want over pay for players so they've walked away from some players. The big wigs are probably aware that they can get talent from less popular leagues for a cheaper price. I've noticed that Forest have been scouring the South American leagues

 

we can all blame Emu if Okafor is sh*t/injured/both

seriously, I have my doubts but it's relatively low rent... frankly i'm welcoming any name through the door at the moment.

 

Just seen DCL's recent xg stats... the worst in the premier league last year, second worst year before.

2024/25 xG: 8.67 Goals: 3
2023/24 xG: 13.73 Goals: 7

Topping the charts for least conversions, is this what DF meant when he said he was on an upward trajectory. You could blindfold a donkey and it would accidentally score more than he did.

With my glass half full... if he barely plays because he's injured, he can't miss chances.

Anyway just though i'd post some positive vibes ahead of the opening match.

 

Well looks like another physio table needed folks

https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1957371893926723949

 

Noah Okafor - Injury history | Transfermarkt

I started at the bottom and sighed a huge NO when I saw the second one up from the bottom, 14 days out with toothache FFS

 

Just read that myself and thought WTF? Who has tooth ache for that long, just go to the effing dentist and get it sorted ffs.

 

The data guys know it's only a matter of time..

 

When they said that we were going to take a more statistical based approach to transfers this season, are they ignoring the days out injured statistic, it beggars belief really.

 

I think i said the other day, he misses roughly a third of the season every season. So glass half full... he's available for 2/3 of the season. . That's statistics!

Besides toothache can be nasty... and those weeks missed with muscle fatigue? A guy has to rest,

Jokes aside, if he comes, fingers crossed. He has a bit of power and pace, an alternate to our current midget wingers.

Hope the price Romano is quoting (much higher than previously mentioned) is heavily incentive loaded or its wayyyyy too much.

 

Aaaaugh have you seen the price of a dentist visit these days, poor lad

 

Good morning everyone

Butterflies in my stomach, everything crossed that we get a decent result tonight.

 

Every single transfer is a gamble ... as Alex Ferguson himself said, if you can get 20% of your transfers to succeed, you've done a brilliant job

Last season when Leeds got Solomon, the outrage was unreal ... he was considered a costly liability, very injury prone and unlikely to play much ... Leeds needed to do better, not waste money on a broken player ... well, the rest is history

These supposed broken players Leeds are signing are, in fact, quality players who will make a difference, not just on the pitch but in the dressing room as well ... as with Solomon, they could well make a massive impact for us ... I really don't understand all the whining and bleating over transfers

Sure, we all want the club to go throw £100m at an Isak, but it's not feasible ... the 49ers are doing the right thing by managing the club's finances properly ... we don't want another Ridsdale implosion, ever ... I trust our owners to do the right thing and continue to develop the club for sustained success ... they understand how to do this, so back them

Leeds' transfer business, as Matt points out, has been exceptional thus far ... the players brought in look hungry and committed to the cause, just what we need ... it's going to be a demanding season, so every single player will need to be committed, and so far Farke looks to be creating that mentality and culture at Leeds ... that's 90% of the battle right there, the other 10% is quality, and the quality difference in the key moments defines top from bottom ... however, if you don't graft for 90 minutes, no amount of quality will get you consistent results

So far, so good on the transfer front, now we just need to blitz Everton tonight ... will be a tough test, because we know Moyes puts out teams that work hard ... match their physical output and Leeds have the quality to win

 

unfortunately toothache doesn't mean just that ... it could have been an abscess, infection, etc.

Lots of antibiotics and rest ... we don't know the details, but it wouldn't have been anything simple