Leeds United will hope they can put back-to-back losses firmly behind them with a big victory when Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City come to town on New Year’s Day, the Whites stuttering of late in the Championship even after convincingly beating Ipswich Town 4-0 before Christmas.
Daniel Farke’s men will hope 2024 is the year the West Yorkshire club immediately return to the Premier League, stringing together a sequence of results that sees them challenge for the top two in the second tier and ultimately ends in the glory of promotion.
The German manager in the Elland Road hot seat might well look to recruit some fresh blood into the building this January to help his side in their hunt for such a prestigious end goal, with one attacker in particular catching Farke’s eye.
Leeds could well swoop in to sign David Brooks when the transfer window reopens, the AFC Bournemouth winger renowned at Championship level for being a top talent previously in his career.
Leeds transfer latest – David Brooks
talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook took to social media to confirm Leeds’ interest in the Cherries forward recently, stating that the Championship side were keen on signing the 26-year-old on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Leeds won’t be alone in their pursuit of the Bournemouth attacker, with second-tier rivals Southampton also throwing their hat into the ring over a potential transfer according to Crook.
This isn’t the first time the West Yorkshire titans have reportedly been interested in Brooks, the dangerous Wales international was once on Marcelo Bielsa’s shopping list at Elland Road allegedly with former Leeds footballer Danny Mills revealing to Football Insider in 2020 that the Bournemouth player’s style and ability on the ball made him very much a “Bielsa-type player.”
Farke will hope that the allure of Leeds in the present is enough for Brooks to make the switch to the Championship for the second half of the campaign, with Brooks potentially slotting in and becoming a dream partner in attack for Georginio Rutter in Leeds’ frightening forward places.
Brooks’ style of play
Brooks would fit Leeds’ gung-ho approach perfectly if he was signed this January, adding competition to the ranks consequently.
Easy on the eye to watch – gliding effortlessly around the pitch with a killer finish in his arsenal also – the 26-year-old would give the likes of Daniel James at Elland Road a run for the money in the crunch months to follow.
He could well get the best of Rutter also, played as a second striker on occasion for the Cherries and ex-employers Sheffield United as a tricky supplier of chances to the sole forward option.
In that role for Bournemouth and the Blades in the second tier, the dynamic 26-year-old picked up six assists and helped himself to three goals of his own – the Leeds target excelling in the second tier for the south Coast outfit and United before then traversing choppy waters to make the step-up to the Premier League.
This adaptability to switch from playing down the flanks to through the centre could prove to be crucial for the Whites, Brooks going toe-to-toe with the likes of Joel Piroe and displacing them from the lineup potentially if the Dutchman or any other player in that spot experienced a drop-off in form.
At the peak of his powers, Brooks was even being lined up for a major money move away from the Vitality Stadium to a team higher up the Premier League – Aston Villa rumoured to be in for the slick attacker back in 2021.
Lee Hendrie was a fan of this potential deal, the ex-Villa player and current football pundit speaking to Football FanCast at the time about Brooks’ game and the “bags of ability” the 5 foot 8 Cherries man possessed that impressed him.
Farke will want to add strength in depth this January to help his team consolidate a push for promotion and not fall away under immense pressure, Brooks an ideal addition therefore to strengthen the side without having to break the bank to potentially enhance Rutter in the process.
