Leeds United are in the market to sign a new number to bolster their squad before the summer transfer window officially slams shut at the start of September.
Football Insider reported in May that the Championship champions were not planning for Joel Piroe to be their main number nine in the Premier League, despite the fact that he won the Golden Boot last season.
The Dutch marksman scored 19 goals in the second tier to beat the likes of Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent to the Golden Boot, but he may not be the go-to option for Daniel Farke once the window is over.
Leeds have been linked with an interest in Everton’s Beto and Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz as Premier League proven centre-forward options, whilst they have also been linked with Roma striker Artem Dovbyk.
This shows that the Whites are looking to bring in a high-calibre number nine to take Piroe’s place as a starter in the team for the upcoming top-flight season.
The West Yorkshire outfit will be hoping to find a striker who can score goals on a regular basis in the Premier League for many years to come, which means that they are looking for their best centre-forward since Chris Wood.
The strikers Leeds have had since Chris Wood left
The New Zealand international, as shown in the graphic below, scored 44 goals in 88 games for the Whites before his move to Burnley in the summer of 2017.
Since moving on from Elland Road, Wood has established himself as a reliable goalscorer in the top-flight. To date, the 33-year-old star has racked up 89 goals in 263 Premier League appearances for Burnley, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest combined.
In the time since the Forest star left the club, Leeds have had Kemar Roofe, Patrick Bamford, and Joel Piroe as their main starting number nine options, whilst Rodrigo is a debatable one as a versatile star who played in midfield, as a second striker, and as a striker at times.
Leeds United’s top scorers since Chris Wood left
Season
Top league scorer
League
Goals
24/25
Joel Piroe
Championship
19
23/24
Crysencio Summerville
Championship
20
22/23
Rodrigo
Premier League
13
21/22
Raphinha
Premier League
11
20/21
Patrick Bamford
Premier League
17
19/20
Patrick Bamford
Championship
16
18/19
Kemar Roofe
Championship
15
17/18
Kemar Roofe
Championship
11
As you can see in the table above, Bamford is the only one of those players to have cracked over 13 top-flight goals in a single season, with his 17-goal haul.
However, the former England international has failed to consistently deliver in the top-flight, with just 24 goals in 102 Premier League games overall in his career.
The Whites, though, have now been offered the chance to bring in a centre-forward who would be better than all of the strikers they have had since Wood left.
Leeds offered chance to sign prolific striker
According to The Boot Room, Leeds United are one of the teams to have been offered an opportunity to sign Al Hilal number nine Aleksandar Mitrovic before the end of the summer transfer window.
The Whites could see an offer accepted by the Saudi Pro League outfit because the striker may be on the move this summer, due to his side’s interest in bringing in another option in his position.
This update reveals that Al Hilal are one of a number of Pro League teams in the running to sign Liverpool marksman Darwin Nunez this summer, and his potential arrival has left Mitrovic’s future up in the air.
The Boot Room states that the Serbia international’s representatives have offered him to Leeds, Sunderland, and Fulham, among others, ahead of a possible return to England, a country the player is said to love.
It has previously been reported this summer that Al Hilal would want a fee in the region of £26m for Mitrovic, which provides an insight into the kind of money Leeds will have to spend to get a deal over the line.
Why Leeds should sign Aleksandar Mitrovic
The Whites should push to bring the Serbian forward to Elland Road in the coming weeks, now that they have been offered a chance to sign him, because he could be the club’s best striker since Chris Wood.
As aforementioned, the New Zealand international is the only striker Leeds have had in the past eight years or so who has been able to establish himself as a regular goalscorer at the top level.
Mitrovic would come in as a player who has already proven himself at the top level, with three Premier League seasons with nine or more goals under his belt. The 30-year-old star has also scored a staggering 62 goals in 100 caps for Serbia at international level.
No past or present Leeds striker has scored nine or more goals in multiple seasons in the top-flight other than Wood since 2016, which speaks to the kind of quality that Mitrovic would bring to Elland Road.
Mitrovic (Saudi Pro League)
23/24
24/25
Appearances
28
23
xG
26.60
17.41
Goals
28
19
xG on target
26.26
22.12
xA
2.48
1.33
Assists
5
2
His form in the Saudi Pro League, as you can see in the table above, has also been sensational. The former Fulham star has scored a mind-blowing 47 goals in 51 appearances in the league for Al Hilal.
Mitrovic, who was described as an “absolute monster” by Saudi Arabian news journalist Matt Monaghan, has proven, in Saudi Arabia and in England, that he is a reliable and consistent goalscorer at the top level.
The 30-year-old marksman, who holds the record for the most goals in a Championship season with 43, would be the club’s best number nine since Wood, as he would be the only other forward to have shown consistent quality as a goalscorer in top-flight football.
Therefore, the Whites should be doing everything that they can to win the race for Mitrovic’s signature this summer, as he may be the prolific number nine they need to fire them to safety in the Premier League next season.