The January transfer window opened for business on Monday and it has provided Leeds United with the opportunity to make changes to their squad.
Daniel Farke’s side are attempting to secure a top two finish in the Championship to land automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
They could use this month to bolster their options across the pitch in order to give them the best chance of firing their way to success during the second half of the campaign.
However, their first move of the window has been to send right-back Djed Spence back to Tottenham Hotspur, halfway through his planned season-long loan from the top-flight side.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay has since confirmed that the club decided to terminate the deal earlier than expected, rather than it being a case of Spurs opting to recall him.
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Leeds now have an issue to resolve before the end of the window as Spence’s return to London has left them without depth at full-back.
Leeds transfer news – Bright Osayi-Samuel
It has been reported that the Whites are interested in a deal to sign Bright Osayi-Samuel from Fenerbahce and the talented whiz could come in as a dream replacement for the former England U21 international.
Turkish outlet Star have claimed that Leeds are one of a number of clubs to have entered the race to land the Nigeria international’s signature this month.
The report has named Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers as the other two teams eyeing up a possible swoop to sign the former Queens Park Rangers star.
It is also stated that Osayi-Samuel is ‘keen’ on all three of those clubs and this suggests that personal terms would not be a major stumbling block to secure a deal.
However, Star do claim that Fenerbahce do not want to lose the Nigerian dynamo without a fight and are ready to demand a fee within the region of €10m (£8.6m) for his services.
At this time, it remains to be seen whether or not Leeds, Wolves, or Palace are prepared, or able, to spend £8.6m on the exciting full-back ahead of the second half of the season.
The report does, however, suggest that Farke is keen to add another right-back to his squad to bolster his depth. Spence’s exit came very shortly after this news dropped and it would not be a shock to learn that their pursuit of Osayi-Samuel was linked to the defender’s return to Spurs.
If the German head coach can beat Wolves and Palace to his signature over the coming weeks then he could land the dream replacement for the Tottenham right-back, who endured a difficult first half of the season for various reasons.
Spence’s time at Leeds in numbers
The 23-year-old defender arrived at Elland Road on a season-long loan from Tottenham during the summer transfer window as an exciting addition.
He made his debut off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday in September and caught the eye with an impressive nine-minute cameo.
Spence won five of his six ground duels as he made one block, one tackle, and completed two of his three attempted dribbles, to go along with a pass success rate of 100% (9/9).
Unfortunately, the defender then suffered ligament damage in his knee after a challenge in training shortly after that clash with Wednesday.
His next appearance for Leeds came on the 9th of December against Blackburn Rovers as he replaced the injured Sam Byram at left-back.
Spence was then required to start the next four Championship matches as a left-back, due to Byram’s absence, and his most impressive display came in the 4-0 win over Ipswich Town.
The English ace won seven of his 11 duels and made three tackles and one interception, to keep the likes of Nathan Broadhead and Wes Burns quiet.
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He also created one chance and completed four of his five attempted dribbles throughout the game at Elland Road, which shows that the talented gem offered quality at both ends of the pitch.
In total, Spence made seven league appearances and averaged an impressive 3.5 tackles and interceptions combined and 4.4 ball recoveries per match, to go along with a duel success rate of 57%.
These statistics show that the 23-year-old gem provided plenty of aggression at full-back with his ability to win possession back multiple times per match with tackles, interceptions, and recoveries.
The statistics that show why Leeds should sign Osayi-Samuel
Leeds could brilliantly replace Spence by winning the race to land Osayi-Samuel his month as the Fenerbahce star has been in fine form so far this season.
He has started 13 Super Lig matches for the Turkish giants so far this season and has caught the eye with his defensive contributions.
The Nigeria international has averaged 3.2 tackles and interceptions combined and 4.8 ball recoveries per match across those 13 outings.
He has also won 59% of his duels and this shows that the impressive speedster is a strong defender who does not get outmuscled by opposition forwards and is, therefore, able to produce dominant performances down the flank.
These statistics suggest that Osayi-Samuel has the defensive capabilities to offer a similar level of protection to Spence at full-back, as they are both able to make tackles, interceptions, and recoveries at a similar rate.
His former manager – Mark Warburton – at QPR once hailed his “blistering” speed and claimed that the rapid whiz has “sheer pace” that is able to terrify defenders.
This indicates that the Fenerbahce star could also provide a threat going forward from right-back to attack on the overlap ahead of Dan James.
20/21 Championship | Osayi-Samuel for QPR (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
Appearances | 21 |
Goals | Three |
Assists | Two |
Big chances created | Four |
Dribbles completed per match | 2.8 |
He previously played as a winger at QPR and registered 12 assists in 58 Championship matches throughout his last two seasons with the London-based club.
This shows that Osayi-Samuel has the potential to make an impact at the top end of the pitch and has experience of being a creator down the right flank at Championship level.
Whereas, Spence did not score a single goal or provide an assist or ‘big chance’ in his seven appearances for Leeds, which means that the £8.6m-rated wizard could be an upgrade on him in that sense and, therefore, a dream replacement.
