Daniel Farke’s side kick off their first campaign back in the Premier League tonight, with a home affair against Everton. It won’t be an easy game, with the Toffees conducting some inspiring summer business so far, but it has been a similar story for the Whites. However, they are still looking to bring in one more attacking option: Leeds United are now close to a deal for Noah Okafor.
Leeds United ‘Pushing Hard’ for Final Attacking Reinforcement
Proposal Close to £20 Million for Noah Okafor
Fabrizio Romano has revealed today that Leeds are “close” to signing Okafor, after interest was revealed earlier this week by The Athletic. They have submitted a proposal of over €20 million (over £17 million), which is expected to be enough. A contract would be valid until 2029, though there would be an option to extend for an extra year.
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However, this deal is not quite done. The Peacocks are still waiting on the “final green light” from the player who won the Serie A whilst on loan at Napoli from AC Milan last season. Manager Daniel Farke is “pushing hard” to get this across the line; presumably, he is hoping that the player could be involved in their second match of the season against Arsenal.
Injury Record a Concern?
Staying up in England’s top flight has proven to be a tough task recently, with the last six promoted sides failing, and goalscoring will be a huge factor in this. Leeds have already brought in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but by his track record, he cannot be relied upon to stay fit nor find the back of the net consistently.
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Okafor could be a help from the wing: he scored double digits in back-to-back seasons for RB Salzburg. However, in his first season in Italy, he had four different injuries, and in his second season, six. He has played a total of 1317 minutes in the Serie A across both years. Injuries have been a concern throughout his career, missing nine or more matches in every season.
With Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha also injury-prone, Leeds could be left short in the goalscoring department this season. However, if Okafor can stay fit, he could be a huge asset: in 2023/24, he managed six goals in the league for Milan despite only starting six matches.
