While Leeds United appeared to begin the window prioritising a defender, could the February deadline arrive with a new attacking midfielder settling into life at Elland Road?
At a time in which Leeds are being linked with Emi Buendia, Alvyn Sanches and Diego Luna – Louie Barry can probably be added to that list, given that he played as a left-sided wideman at Stockport County in the first half of the campaign – injuries suffered by both Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon may yet speed things up a little.
Daniel Farke confirms Aaronson and Solomon are doubts as Leeds United prepare to face Norwich City at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
Now, Farke can call upon Ramazani to take Solomon’s place on the left – the summer signing from Almeria scored one and assisted another in a scintilataling cameo performance against Sheffield Wednesday over the weekend – but a solution to the number ten problem, in Aaronson’s absence, is far less obvious.
Farke thinks Willy Gnonto can play in a more central role. Yet, whether the Italian can find pockets of space and pick passes as effectively as Aaronson is another matter.
Joel Piroe also struggled at number ten earlier in the campaign.
But, should Leeds struggle to break down Norwich in Aaronson’s potential absence, the silver lining may be that it speeds up the pursuit of a new face as the transfer deadline looms on the horizon.
Leeds United could step up Diego Luna interest amid injury concerns
Leeds may be leading the race for Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia. The £30 million Argentine – a huge part of Farke’s free-flowing, title-winning Norwich team – has little interest in returning to South America with River Plate.
Leeds are keen on Lausanne Sport schemer Alvyn Sanches too. And then there’s Diego Luna; the newly-crowned Major League Soccer Young Player of the Year and the twinkle-toed talisman of Real Salt Lake.
Diego Luna shares distinct similarities with Manor Solomon. Perhaps he has been lined up, not as an addition for now, but for the summer, with Solomon’s future uncertain beyond his Tottenham Hotspur loan deal.
Drifting in to often devastating effect off the left-hand side, Diego Luna is a ‘proper old-school winger’, to quote analysis from his homeland.
Goal’s American expert Jacob Schneider is better placed than most to comment on the California-born 21-year-old’s next step. And he feels that, while Leeds offers a potential shot at Premier League football, the diminutive, somewhat dainty £7 million-rated Luna is a footballer better suited to the less physical stylings of Italy’s Serie A.
Real Salt Lake star Diego Luna urged to move to Italy rather than England
“Already catching the eye of Leeds United in the English Championship, Luna should continue to attract interest as long as he builds on last season,” Schneider writes.
“Considering Luna’s style of play, it feels as though the ideal landing spot would be in Serie A, where skill moves, tidy dribbling, and hold-up play are coveted skills.
“Luna would fit brilliantly at a club like Fiorentina or Bologna.”
Small in stature but big in talent, a pocket-sized frame does not necessarily mean Luna is ill-suited to life in England, of course. He is the same height as Buendia at 5ft 8ins. Taller than both Solomon and Gnonto.
Though, considering the struggles of some of the USA’s finest football talent in recent times, it is easy to see why a potential move to Leeds has elicited some concern from the other side of the pond. Weston McKennie was a disaster in West Yorkshire before returning to Italy and forcing his way back into the Juventus XI.
Christian Pulisic has been a man reborn since leaving Chelsea for AC Milan, while Gio Reyna’s short-lived spell at Nottingham Forest won’t be remembered with too much fondness.
And, as Brenden Aaronson found out during what was a real baptism of fire at Elland Road, honeymoon periods do not tend to last long when expectations are high and the returns are low.
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