The deal was done. Leeds United thought they had pulled one of the transfer coups of the summer window with the £30m signing of a Brazilian magician.
Leeds received an email during a friendly with Paderborn confirming a bid had been accepted for Igor Paixao. Feyenoord were happy with the terms offered, but Adam Underwood wasn’t convinced he’d join.
Ultimately, the situation was simple. If Marseille could match Feyenoord’s asking price and Leeds’ £30m offer, then Paixao would go to France. If they couldn’t, Paixao would happily wear the white of Leeds.
But at the last minute, Marseille director Pablo Longoria managed to find the funds necessary to match Leeds’ bid, and Paixao was off to France. Leeds were left in the lurch, not for the only time in the summer.
Underwood has come in for criticism this summer, having failed to sign Harry Wilson or another attacker in the dying embers of the window. Had he signed Paixao, things might have been very different for him.
Tuesday night will have been difficult for Adam Underwood
Paixao had actually made a difficult start to life at Marseille. Injured and a lack of match fitness, Paixao was showing the early signs of being a bit of a flop at £30m. But that all changed on Tuesday night.
Coming up against more familiar opposition in the form of Ajax, having played in The Netherlands for Feyenoord, Paixao scored Marseille’s first two goals in a 4-0 win over the Dutch giants last night.
The Marseille fans were left in raptures when Paixao ran the length of Ajax’s half to put Marseille in front with a neat finish. But his second was explosive, blasting home from the best part of 25 yards for 2-0.
Mason Greenwood made it 3-0 after a neat pass from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, before Paixao then laid on an assist for Aubameyang to score a fourth on the counter. A Paixao-inspired Marseille display.
Certainly, Paixao’s display will have left Underwood feeling gutted that Leeds could not get a deal over the line. But the lure of the Champions League was too strong for Paixao, and Tuesday proved that.
Paixao not the only Leeds-linked winger in 4-0 Marseille win
Leeds eventually signed Noah Okafor from AC Milan for £18m after failing to get Paixao. The Swiss star has made a mixed start, scoring against Wolves but earning criticism for his ability to keep the ball.
Of course, Leeds were linked with a whole host of wide men during the window. Paixao was top of the list, Okafor was close to it. Another linked with Leeds was Ajax’s Belgian youngster Mika Godts, who started.
He lasted 84 minutes on Tuesday night in the 4-0 defeat by Paixao and Marseille, hardly having any kind of an impact on the match. One thing is for sure, Underwood will have been left gutted by Paixao’s goals.
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