Leeds United have been dealt a setback in their bid to bring Daichi Kamada to Elland Road.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by German publication BILD (via TEAMtalk), who claim that, following earlier reports of both Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in a move for the Eintracht Frankfurt attacking midfielder, Everton have now also joined the race for the 26-year-old – who could be available to sign on a pre-contract in January.
However, BILD went on to state that, despite the fact that Japan international’s current deal at the Deutsche Bank Park is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, Eintracht are not open to the idea of parting with the attacker this winter – with the Bundesliga side said to be doing everything they can to convince Kamada to extend his stay at the club.
Orta must act
Considering just how impressive Kamada has been in Germany so far this season, it is not difficult to understand why Leeds, Spurs and Everton would all be interested in a deal to bring the midfielder to the Premier League this winter – especially if the 26-year-old is available to sign on a free transfer.
Indeed, over his six Bundesliga appearances in 2022/23, the £18m-rated talent has been in astonishing form, having already scored four goals, registered three assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.0 shots, making 1.3 key passes and completing 0.7 dribbles per game.
These returns have seen the player who BT Sport’s Lucy Ward dubbed “exceptional” average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as Oliver Glasner’s best performer in the league but also as the joint 34th-best player in the German top flight as a whole in the current campaign.
For comparison, should Kamada have achieved these numbers for Leeds this season, the 21-cap international would rank as the Whites’ second top-scorer, joint-best assist provider and joint fourth-best big chance creator, while his average match rating would see him rank as the club’s fourth-best performer in the Premier League.
As such, should the £7.2k-per-week midfielder fail to put pen to paper on a new deal with Eintracht, Orta simply must do all he can to land Kamada ahead of both Tottenham and Everton – as it is clear to see that the Japanese sensation would represent an exceptional addition to Marsch’s current attacking arsenal at Elland Road, not to mention an absolute steal on a free.