Leeds United have recently been linked with a swoop to sign Noah Okafor from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the January transfer window.
The 22-year-old striker is reportedly on the Premier League club’s radar, despite the market being closed for the next three-and-a-half months, as Victor Orta plots ways to improve Jesse Marsch’s squad.
By signing the Switzerland international in January, Leeds could land their eventual heir to Patrick Bamford’s throne in the number nine position at Elland Road.
The former Chelsea marksman led the line brilliantly for the Whites in their first season back in the top flight as he found the back of the net 17 times in 2020/21. However, he was then hit with a number of injury issues which restricted him to making just seven starts in the league in 2021/22, scoring two goals in that time.
Raphinha (11) was the only Leeds player to hit double figures in the Premier League last season, while Rodrigo – who also played in midfield at times – was the only natural striker with more than two goals to his name (he finished with six).
Bamford has been fit for the start of the current campaign but did not score in any of his four appearances so far, as he seeks to recapture the form that he showed a couple of years ago.
Should Leeds sign Okafor?
The 29-year-old may not be able to get back to his best, and bringing in Okafor could see a changing of the guard up front by signalling the next generation of forward at Elland Road.
At the age of 22, the Salzburg marksman is an up-and-coming prospect who could grow and develop alongside the club. He has many years left ahead of him to improve as a player and could come in to improve the team in the immediate term, whilst also being an investment for the future.
The gem, who has racked up 81 goals and assists in his club career to date, has scored five goals and provided two assists in 10 appearances for his team this season. This comes after he managed nine goals and nine assists in 21 league outings last term, along with three goals in six Champions League group games.
Okafor, who journalist Josh Bunting described as a “pleasure to watch“, has also scored two goals in eight appearances for Switzerland at international level and has shown plenty of promise as a young striker, which has led to this interest from Leeds.
His statistics suggest that he has the goalscoring potential, and his recent pressing against Milan in the Champions League indicates that he could suit Jesse Marsch’s style of play of pressing high and playing with intensity throughout matches to force mistakes from the opposition.
Therefore, he could be an exciting prospective addition to the Leeds squad and, at his age, eventually take over Bamford’s throne up front for the Whites, whether that is straight away in January or in the medium to long-term.
