The no.10 role has been an issue for Daniel Farke since he arrived at Leeds United. Currently, Brenden Aaronson occupies the position but has struggled to provide the consistency and numbers.
But such is the lack of competition in attacking midfield for Leeds, Brenden Aaronson has started the last 33 league games in a row. On Saturday, the American struggled again as Leeds failed to beat West Brom.
In the most-recent transfer window, Leeds wanted Emi Buendia. But the Argentina ace has joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan until the summer, with a permanent option believed to be the best part of £20m.
Others have been linked, too. Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United, Manchester City talent James McAtee and plenty of others – but the first no.10 to be linked during Daniel Farke’s era was Nadiem Amiri.
Nadiem Amiri shines as Mainz produce shock win over Leipzig
Leeds made a bid for Amiri back in the summer of 2023. Excitement was aplenty, with Amiri a Germany international and at the time, was a fringe player at Buendia’s Leverkusen – but Leeds failed to do a deal.
In January 2024, Amiri joined Mainz permanently from Leverkusen and he is on fire this season. Nine goals and assists, captaining Mainz in a handful of games, Amiri is pushing Mainz into European football.
On Saturday, Mainz went to another of RedBull’s footballing family in Leipzig. A tricky game, with both sides pushing for Europe, but Mainz produced a stunning 2-1 away win over the Bundesliga giants.
Amiri was man of the match, equalising for Mainz after Xavi Simons scored in the first minute. Amiri then, laid on an assist for the winner just before the hour mark – securing a shock win for Amiri’s Mainz side.
How close did Leeds United come to signing Nadiem Amiri?
It is well-renowned that Amiri travelled to Thorp Arch and held talks with the Leeds board. Many at Leeds felt a deal was pretty much done given Amiri had made the effort to come to England, via a private jet.
But, Amiri flew back having decided not to join Leeds despite The 49ers agreeing a £5m fee with current champions Leverkusen. Amiri is a former teammate of Leeds’ most-recent signing Josuha Guilavogui.
A fee of £5m would not get anywhere close to signing Amiri right now, with his stock back on the rise after a difficult spell at Leverkusen. So much so, that Aston Villa showed interest in Amiri in January.
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