Leeds United have several striker targets going into the summer transfer window. One of them though has seemingly shut the door on a possible move to Elland Road.
Among many other positions in the side, striker is one position that Leeds United desperately need to bolster in the summer transfer window.
Daniel Farke has the 2024/25 Championship Golden Boot winner Joel Piroe to lead the line. But he alone won’t keep Leeds United in the Premier League next season, especially considering Farke only has Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph as his backup options.
Throughout the year, Leeds United have been linked with several strikers. Several new ones have been mentioned since the end of the 2024/25 season but as of yet, none seem close to making a move to Elland Road this summer.
Farke looks as though he’s preoccupied with other positions right now, like at full-back amid the ongoing uncertainty over Junior Firpo’s Leeds United future, and in goal with Illan Meslier looking set to leave the club.
One striker mentioned alongside Leeds though is Celtic’s Daizen Maeda.
Daizen Maeda insists he’s happy at Celtic amid links to Leeds United
Leeds United have been linked with a move for Maeda this summer. The Japanese international, who plays alongside Ao Tanaka for his country, scored an incredible 33 goals in all competitions for Celtic in 2024/25, as well as picking up 12 assists too. Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce have also joined the race to sign Maeda this summer.
And speaking out on his situation, the 27-year-old Maeda has insisted that he remains happy at Celtic, as he was when he joined the club from Japanese side Yokohama Marinos in 2022. Maeda said in Celtic’s end-of-season video: “Since I’ve joined Celtic, I’ve been playing football with joy. There is no difference between now and the past. I still enjoy playing here.”
Speaking earlier in May, Maeda refused to rule out leaving Celtic this summer, seemingly changing his tune on where his future might lie beyond this summer’s transfer window, which opens on June 1st.
The latest on Leeds United’s search for a new striker
Leeds United’s striker search doesn’t seem to be moving forward right now, with links to a handful of players, but with more and more committing their futures to their current clubs.
Along with Maeda, Troy Parrott says he wants to stay at AZ Alkmaar despite reports linking him with a big-money move to Leeds United this summer, after his 20-goal haul for the Dutch club in 2024/25.
Elsewhere, Besiktas forward Semih Kilicsoy continues to be mentioned alongside a move to West Yorkshire. There seems to be a bit of uncertainty over where his future lies right now though, with Besiktas wanting to keep the player but send him out on loan.
Kilicsoy has been urged to leave Besiktas amid what looks like a quite difficult situation for the 19-year-old Turkish international.
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