A striker who was repeatedly linked with a move to Leeds United during the summer window has shown Daniel Farke what he missed out on with a brilliant debut for his new club.
Leeds United were linked with a string of forward players during the transfer window, as they missed out in their protracted pursuit of Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz.
Daniel Farke eventually secured the signing of Dominic Calvert-Lewin; however, despite also bringing Noah Okafor to the club, Leeds were left short on numbers up front, contributing to their record-breaking lack of goals in the Premier League.
To compound Farke’s woes, it has been a good weekend for former Leeds transfer targets, as Nico Gonzalez scored on his Atletico Madrid debut. Now, another former target has scored two goals in an impressive cameo from the bench after missing out on a switch to Elland Road.
Photo by Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty ImagesFormer Leeds United transfer target enjoys goal-scoring debut
Mehdi Taremi was repeatedly linked with a move to Leeds in the 2025 summer transfer window, with Inter reportedly willing to allow him to leave for around £9 million.
However, a move to Leeds never materialised, and Taremi eventually moved to the Greek Super League, joining Olympiakos on a permanent deal.
The Iranian international has wasted no time in making his mark at the club, after being named on the bench in the 5-0 win over Panserraikos.
Wearing the number 99 shirt, Taremi was introduced as a second-half substitute and promptly scored two goals, finding the net in the 88th and 90th minutes in a comfortable victory on debut.
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Only the club knows how close they came to signing the former Inter striker. However, he proved that he is still a threat with his impressive debut in Greece.
Daniel Farke is lacking an instinctive finisher
Although Taremi may not have been the right man to fire Leeds to safety in the top flight, his two goals on debut highlight a deficiency in Farke’s squad.
While Calvert-Lewin has plenty of good qualities, he is not a ruthless finisher, as he showed with his missed chance during the Fulham game. Lukas Nmecha is a powerful physical presence and holds the ball up well, but has also struggled in front of goal in his limited game time.
Joel Piroe is arguably the most natural finisher in the Leeds squad, but he lacks the physical presence of Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha, which was highlighted in Leeds’ defeat against Arsenal.
The Leeds squad currently lacks a deadly finisher who will turn half-chances into goals. Having failed to sign another forward, they may regret not adding one more option in attack when they had the chance.