Leeds United’s £20m interest addressed as manager discusses potential January exit

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There is never an ideal time to lose your star striker. But, in the midst of a Championship promotion battle, links with Leeds United could hardly have come at a more unwelcome moment.

Leeds United News have been told, by TBR Football’s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey that Daniel Farke’s Leeds are looking to bring in Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough before the month is out.

Of course, no football can ever be considered totally unsellable. And if Leeds United were to submit a bid in the region of £20 million, Middlesbrough may struggle to turn that down.

Yet, a return to the Premier League is still very much on the cards for Michael Carrick’s occasionally brilliant but always inconsistent Boro outfit.

And, if the team sitting fifth are to secure a play-off spot, retaining the services of Latte Lath could be genuinely make or break.

The late-blooming, well-travelled Ivory Coast international has scored 10 Championship goals this season. He is just six away from matching his tally from 2024/25. And while Latte Lath epitomises both the best and the worst of Middlesbrough – his good performances tend to come in bunches – Carrick is understandably keen to keep the 26-year-old at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick reacts to Leeds United’s Emmanuel Latte Lath interest

Losing Latte Lath mid-season would be bad enough. Losing him to a potential promotion rival, however, well that’s another thing entirely.

“You never know what’s out there and what’s going to come, who’s going to offer what. That’s not just about Manu, that’s any player,” Carrick said during his Friday press conference.

“It’s a transfer window and anyone can offer what they want. So for me to sit here and say I’m confident or I’m not confident [of keeping Latte Lath], it doesn’t really matter or affect it, because we’ve no idea what might come.

“We’re happy with the squad we’ve got and we want to keep that squad together as much as we can. We want to be stronger at the end of January, which is obvious.”

Leeds are without Patrick Bamford and Joel Piroe ahead of the FA Cup clash with Harrogate Town this weekend. Farke has indicated that Willy Gnonto could be an option to start up top with Mateo Joseph their only fit centre-forward, with injuries to Bamford and Piroe leaving the Yorkshire giants worryingly light in the final third.

Latte Lath would be a fine solution, then, but a costly one too.

Boro ‘calm’ as Daniel Farke’s striker options hit by injuries

“How confident I am [about retaining Latte Lath] doesn’t matter because we don’t know what’s out there,” Manchester United legend Carrick adds. “By the same token, we might be looking at other players and their current clubs aren’t yet aware, then things happen.

“We’ve just got to be calm. We know what we want it to look like and we’ll make good decisions when we need to.”

Latte Lath joined Middlesbrough from Atalanta back in 2023, though it was during a loan spell with Austrian outfit Sturm Graz where he really made his name.

“Latte Lath is an interesting one,” Bailey explains. “If Leeds give more than £20m for him, it would take £20m to get him.

“He reminds me of [former Boro striker] Leroy Lita. Good Championship striker, lower end of the Premier League. He is what he is. If you sign him, scores three goals and gets you promoted – then it’s worth it isn’t it?”