Leeds United are reportedly looking to sign Southampton striker Cameron Archer and Daniel Farke has responded when asked about the forward in Thursday afternoon’s press conference.
Last week, Daniel Farke told reporters he wants a new striker. It comes after sanctioning Joe Gelhardt’s loan at Hull City, only for Patrick Bamford to then suffer a setback in his recovery from a hamstring issue.
Cameron Archer has emerged as a target for Leeds. The 23-year-old is currently at Southampton, after joining them last summer from Sheffield United a year after The Blades beat Leeds to Archer’s signature.
Graeme Bailey has told LeedsUnited.News that Leeds are confident of signing Archer ahead of promotion rivals Sunderland. A deal would be a loan with an obligation to buy him, likely in the event of promotion.
Daniel Farke responds when asked about signing Cameron Archer
Leeds take on Cardiff City at Elland Road on Saturday and The Whites not only want Archer on board by then, but also Newcastle United defender Matt Targett according to some reports regarding the defender.
Speaking in his press conference on Thursday, Farke was asked about signing Archer by BBC’s Adam Pope in the latest press conference. But Farke kept his cards close to his chest, failing to confirm anything.
“I checked my phone, nothing has happened. I like to be open and honest and transparent, I’m not a big fan of the January window. Players are overpriced. If you are top of the league, it’s difficult to improve.
“It could even be risky if you bring the wrong person in, I’ve spoken about this. We will stay awake until the last hour, but we will only do something when all boxes are ticked. We have a good group together.
“The right character, has to be affordable and available. If all three boxes are ticked then we will move, but nothing has happened. If we are without this signing, we go with what we’ve got,” Farke said.
Where does Archer rank compared to Piroe, Joseph and Bamford
Archer would be well aware that he is coming to a side where there are three exceptional strikers, at least on their day. Joseph is a proper talent, shining with Spain’s U21 side and Piroe has 15 goals and assists.
Bamford might be injured but has a brilliant record in the Championship over the years. But the stats show that actually, Archer has a better ratio of goals and assists compared to minutes than the trio.
| Name | Clubs | Games (Starts) | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Minutes per G+A |
| Joel Piroe | Leeds Swansea | 162 (133) | 11744 | 64 | 16 | 146.8 |
| Mateo Joseph | Leeds | 48 (11) | 1350 | 3 | 3 | 225 |
| Patrick Bamford | Leeds Boro Derby Forest | 229 (161) | 12600 | 69 | 15 | 150 |
| Cameron Archer | Preston Boro | 40 (35) | 3002 | 18 | 7 | 120 |
There is no doubting that Archer would be a top signing if Leeds can pull it off before the deadline. But, it depends if Leeds can get a deal done and find an agreement with Southampton before Monday night.
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