It is far from certain what the January transfer window will hold for Leeds United, but they have already been given a hands off warning for one potential target.
Though there is still over three months until the window opens again, Leeds‘ recruitment team will already be putting plans in place for that and beyond.
Leeds brought in eight new players over the summer but there is at least one position which they missed out on, with Daniel Farke less than impressed at Leeds’ failure to add a number 10.
Perhaps another striker would not go amiss either to help ease the load on Mateo Joseph, even despite Tony Dorigo’s high praise for the Spaniard earlier this week.
Patrick Bamford simply cannot be relied on anymore and resting the promotion hopes on just one striker still in his first proper season of senior football would be a risk.
Leeds chances of Paik Seung-Ho deal dismissed by Birmingham boss
One position Leeds did manage to get sorted in August was that advanced eight role, as Ao Tanaka joined from Fortuna Dusseldorf on deadline day.
Tanaka has been limited to brief substitute appearances so far but has been brought in to fix the lack of goals from midfield. Many Leeds fans are calling for Tanaka to get more game time.
Aside from the public knowledge of Leeds’ interest in Gustavo Hamer, one other option they looked at was Birmingham City’s Paik Seung-Ho after their relegation.
As per Daily Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath, Leeds and Sheffield United both showed interest in Paik, but were unable to get deals done.
Given how much was spent by the Blues in the summer, perhaps it is no surprise they held firm in refusing to sell him. Speaking to Birmingham Live, manager Chris Davies has strongly hinted that will be the case again in January.
He said: “There would have definitely been interest in him. But I was very consistent all along that he was going to be a key player this season and in future years.
“He’s an excellent player and an excellent character. In my mind there was no real threat of losing him. He has been excellent so far and needs to maintain those standards.”
Paik Seung-Ho stats compared to Leeds duo Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev
Despite Tanaka’s arrival, Farke has stuck with Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu as his midfield pairing. Though very solid, there is not much creativity.
Gruev has been tasked with playing more advanced this season but simply does not have the forward passing strength to really excel there. A backwards pass from Gruev was actually booed by Leeds fans at Cardiff.
Paik, meanwhile, is really shining at Birmingham, all be it in League One. They have 16 points from their six matches so far and look as though they will romp to the title.
| Stat | Paik | Gruev | Ampadu |
| Apps | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Touches (per 90) | 80.5 | 83.7 | 82.7 |
| Key passes (per 90) | 1 | 2 | 0.8 |
| Big chances created | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Passes in opp. half (per 90) | 24.7 | 34.2 | 27.3 |
Judging by those statistics, Paik perhaps would not have been the answer to Leeds’ lack of creativity. He is playing in the most dominant side in League One, but isn’t excelling over Leeds’ midfield pairing.
However, clearly Leeds are lacking creativity in that position and hopefully Tanaka will eventually be the answer.
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