Leeds United are currently competing for an instant return to the Premier League as they currently sit third in the Championship after 16 matches.
The Whites have enjoyed an impressive start to the season but that may not stop head coach Daniel Farke from dipping into the market to bolster his squad during the January transfer window.
It was reported earlier this month that the Yorkshire-based side are one of a number of clubs eyeing up a possible swoop to sign Wimbledon centre-forward Ali Al-Hamadi.
Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, and Sunderland are also said to be in the race to secure the League Two marksman’s signature to add to their respective frontlines.
It would be a gamble to take a player from the fourth tier and expect them to be able to perform at Championship level but Leeds have benefited from such a gamble in the past with the signing of Jermaine Beckford.
Jermaine Beckford’s goal record at Leeds
The talented centre-forward arrived at Elland Road from non-league outfit Wealdstone in 2006 after impressing enough to earn himself a switch to a then-Championship club.
Leeds opted to send him out on two loan spells to Carlisle and Scunthorpe, where he plundered nine goals in 22 League One appearances, before the gem emerged as a first-team option during the 2007/08 campaign.
The Whites were in League One at the time and Beckford went on to score 85 goals and provided 11 assists in 141 appearances in all competitions across three seasons.
He hit between 20 and 27 goals in all three of his full league campaigns with Leeds before a move to Premier League side Everton in 2010, where he scored eight goals in 34 top-flight matches.
The statistics that show why Al-Hamadi could be Beckford 2.0
The 6 foot 2 centre-forward, who stands at the same height as Beckford, is another lower league, albeit higher than where the Whites signed the now-retired star from, marksman who could make the step up.
Al-Hamadi has plundered six goals and five assists in 15 League Two appearances for Wimbledon so far this season, which speaks to his ability to make an impact as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
The 21-year-old prospect also racked up ten goals and one assist in 19 league outings for the club during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
This means that the Leeds target, who current manager Johnnie Jackson hailed as “hungry” and a “threat” in behind, has produced 16 goals and six assists in 34 League Two matches in 2023.
Over a 46-game campaign, that average would work out to roughly 22 goals and this shows that Al-Hamadi is scoring at an impressive rate that could see him hit over 20 goals in a season – as Beckford did on a regular basis in Yorkshire.
His impressive form for Wimbledon suggests that he is a player who is worth taking a gamble on and that is why the Whites should swoop for his services in January.
He may not make an instant impact at Championship level, given the step up form League Two, but could be an excellent signing for the mid-to-long-term at Elland Road and be someone who Farke could unearth as Beckford 2.0.
