Leeds United ‘ready’ to pay £30m to beat Nottingham Forest to ‘electric’ winger signing

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Leeds United are still eyeing further attacking additions to finalise Daniel Farke’s squad ahead of the Premier League’s transfer deadline.

Daniel Farke wants a hybrid playmaker who can play as a No.10 or winger to give Leeds United more versatility in their frontline. Facundo Buonanotte is one of two options for Leeds, as we exclusively revealed.

However, Beren Cross believes Leeds have pitched to several wingers while this process for Igor Paixao was ongoing. At the time, one alternative for Leeds could be RC Strasbourg’s Dilane Bakwa.

The Athletic’s Cross revealed he is someone they have their eye on already. Bakwa was linked alongside Bilal El Khannouss and, since then, Cross has continued to link Bakwa with Leeds.

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Leeds increase efforts to sign Nottingham Forest target Dilane Bakwa

His career goals and assists so far are not out of this world in the same way Paixao’s have been of late, but the 22-year-old still ticks many of the boxes Leeds need in and out of possession from their wingers next term.

Prior to signing Omari Hutchinson, Nottingham Forest had a £26 million bid for Bakwa rejected. There was talk that Forest were set to sign Bakwa for £28 million but Hutchinson and James McAtee have bolstered their ranks.

Hutchinson is a similarly creative player to Bakwa, with the pair operating predominantly as left-footed right wingers. They are playmaker types of winger for their respective teams.

Now, Leeds’ interest in profiles of that type has been revealed with Buonanotte interest mounting. That is alongside that of Bakwa, however.

Transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri has explained Leeds are now leading the race for Bakwa. They are now ready to meet Strasbourg expectations over a fee of around €35 million (circa. £30 million) to make a deal happen.

He adds that Forest have not left the race but that the newly-promoted are now ahead.

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Dilane Bakwa’s creativity could be ‘electric’ for Leeds

Back in February, The Guardian reported on the progress of Liam Rosenior’s side. Evidently, after interest in Bakwa and Habib Diarra from Leeds this summer, they have also been impressed.

They wrote: “[Andrey] Santos is the standout but Dilane Bakwa, who has the most assists in Ligue 1, has been electric on the wings.”

In the end, only five players could better Bakwa’s eight assists in the league, including PSG’s Bradley Barcola and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki — now of Manchester City.

Crucially, Bakwa is also a left-footed set-piece taker. As a wide playmaker, he ticks a number of boxes Leeds need to add to their squad as the window edges closer to closing.