The summer transfer window officially opens for business next month and Leeds United will know that they have to be very busy between now and the end of August.
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, all six newly-promoted teams have been relegated from the Premier League at the first time of asking, which illustrates the difficulty of the task facing Daniel Farke and his staff.
The German head coach’s team won the Championship title with a staggering 100-point haul, but that does not mean that his team does not need to be improved upon during the summer transfer window.
In fact, the rumour mill is already spinning and one player who has been linked with a move to Elland Road ahead of the 2025/26 campaign is Newcastle United centre-forward Callum Wilson.
TalkSPORT claimed that Leeds are the frontrunners to land the former England international on a free transfer, as he could be on his way out of St. James’ Park this summer.
Why Leeds should sign Callum Wilson
Signing Wilson on a free transfer from the Magpies could be a masterstroke by the 49ers because he is a Premier League proven centre-forward who could provide the team with quality and experience in abundance.
The 33-year-old attacker has played 237 matches in the top-flight in his career to date, scoring 88 goals, and could provide the younger members of the squad with someone they can lean on when they need help adapting to the division.
24/25
1
0
23/24
9
9
22/23
21
18
21/22
16
8
20/21
23
12
19/20
32
8
18/19
29
14
17/18
23
8
16/17
16
6
15/16
9
5
As you can see in the table above, Wilson has been a prolific scorer in the Premier League during his time with Bournemouth and Newcastle when you take his starts into account.
This explains why the Magpies forward could be an excellent signing for Leeds because they would be bringing in a striker who has proven that he can find the back of the net at an impressive rate in the top-flight, potentially boosting their chances of achieving survival next season.
However, Wilson has also missed 57 matches through injury since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, and has missed 11 games or more through injury in seven separate seasons in the Premier League throughout his career.
This shows that the 33-year-old striker is a bit of a liability with his availability, which is why it should come as good news to supporters that Leeds are reportedly eyeing up another deal for a younger, less injury-prone, centre-forward to bolster their squad this summer.
Leeds lining up move for £4.6m striker
According to the Sunday Mirror (page 68, 18 May), Leeds United are lining up a move to sign St. Gallen striker Willem Geubbels in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Whites were interested in a swoop to land the French marksman in the January transfer window, but they were unable to get a deal over the line ahead of the second half of the season.
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It states that the West Yorkshire outfit are now set to revisit their interest in the 23-year-old forward as they look to bolster their squad for a Premier League campaign.
The report also reveals that the Frenchman has a release clause in his current contract with St. Gallen that would allow clubs to snap him up for a fee of £4.6m, and that could be activated at the end of the current campaign.
With this in mind, Farke should push the 49ers to strike a deal for £4.6m by activating the release clause for Geubbels because the club could strike gold by landing moves for both him and Callum Wilson in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Why Leeds should sign Willem Geubbels
The 23-year-old attacker would be a bit of a gamble of a signing for the Whites because he has not proven himself in the Premier League to date and is not currently playing in one of Europe’s major leagues, playing in Switzerland.
Geubbels did, however, play 39 games in Ligue 1 for Monaco and Nantes combined before he made the move to the Swiss side, which means that he does have some experience in a major European division.
After he scored the goal in the clip above for Monaco, the French ace was described as a “future star” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, but he was unable to live up to that hype in his home country in the next couple of years.
However, his move to St. Gallen in the 2022/23 campaign provided him with a chance to revive his career away from France, which is exactly what the forward has done.
Appearances
17
32
31
Goals
2
8
14
Key passes per game
0.2
0.9
1.4
Big chances created
1
9
7
Assists
0
5
3
As you can see in the table above, Geubbels has improved in every season he has played for the Swiss side, with more goals and more key passes per game in each campaign, which shows that Leeds would be signing a player who is on the up and improving.
The 23-year-old ace, who was described as “quick” and “powerful” by RangersJournal writer Kai Watson, has also only missed 13 matches through injury in those three seasons, which suggests that he is more likely to be available week-in-week-out than Wilson would be.
Signing both of them could be a masterstroke by the 49ers because Wilson would provide proven quality and experience in the Premier League, whilst Geubbels is a young and hungry forward with all to prove, and an impressive goalscoring record in Switzerland that continues to grow.
Therefore, Farke could end up with a good variety of options at his disposal, particularly when you throw Joel Piroe into the mix as well, to ensure that his team has enough firepower to stay in the top-flight beyond next season.
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