Premier League clubs are in the process of finalising their 25-man squads for the upcoming season and that should have Leeds United on alert.
Leeds have been extremely slow when it comes to incoming transfers this summer and Stuart Dallas believes one reason could be waiting for sides in the top-flight to make decisions on players.
Daniel Farke is keen on adding four new signings to his squad before the August 30 deadline and based on how this window has gone, confidence is low that will get done.
In fact, speaking after Saturday’s draw at West Bromwich Albion, Farke could not give any guarantees Leeds would strengthen in all four positions.
However, given the money that has come in through sales this summer, any less than four would open the door for things to become really toxic once again towards the board.
Leeds should move for Villa youngster Samuel Iling-Junior
Left-back, central midfielder, a number 10 and winger are the four positions in which Leeds are still looking to add to in the next 10 days.
As mentioned, Farke has admitted they may not actually succeed in doing so, and if that is the case, targeting players who can play multiple positions would be wise.
Someone who could fit that bill is Aston Villa’s Samuel Iling-Junior, with the Athletic today reporting it is possible he could leave on loan before the end of the window.
Iling-Junior only moved to Villa in early July as part of the deal that took Douglas Luiz to Juventus, but did not even make the matchday squad for their opening day win at West Ham.
It is said Iling-Junior is keen to play regularly somewhere in order to aid his development and therefore if the club is right, Villa could sanction a loan.
The England U21 international is a player who can cover a variety of positions, which should make him an attractive proposition for Leeds.
He can play on either flank, as well as at left-back and that would kill two birds with one stone if Leeds are indeed struggling to get the four players in Farke wants.
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Iling-Junior once described as an assist machine
Iling-Junior would be a significant coup for Leeds in the Championship as he already has plenty of first team experience from his time at Juventus.
He already has 36 Serie A appearances under his belt and has also played in both the Champions League and Europa League.
His time at Juve has received quite a lot of coverage from the media having decided to leave Chelsea as a youngster to take the step into Italy, and just last year, was described as an ‘assist king’ by journalist Michele Neri.
Via TNT Sport, he said: “Iling Junior is a very quick player, who loves to take on opposing full-backs and attack the vertical spaces, in a very direct way. He is a left winger who can also play as a right winger if needed.
“He has a great sense for dribbling and a speed from a standing start that other Juventus players do not have. In these qualities you can absolutely see shades of Rafael Leao when the AC Milan superstar was a bit younger.
“Of course he is certainly less impactful today than Leao is and has a long way to go to reach the Portuguese’s level. He is an assist machine, but he can also score, especially when his movements off the ball allows him to find space in the penalty area.
“However, with the first team he has only scored one goal so far… so in terms of the next thing to work on I would say he can turn more chances into goals.”
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