Leeds United were linked with a plethora of different strikers in the January transfer window but a Premier League manager has explained why he chose to keep a striker on Leeds’ radar.
Joe Gelhardt completed a loan move to Hull City with Daniel Farke confident his Leeds side had enough to go into the second half of the season. But typically, Patrick Bamford suffered a setback with injury.
Farke gave an update on Bamford earlier this week, with a return to training on the horizon but this is a striker that has not really been 100% fit for the last three years. Many feel Leeds needed a new striker.
Leeds pushed for Cameron Archer but failed to do a deal, with Farke explaining why it was difficult to sign a new player in January. Leeds are now left with just Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe as options up top now.
Leeds linked with £5m Chelsea striker towards end of January
Leeds were linked with many strikers, like Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Dor Turgeman or Gelhardt’s new Hull City teammate Louie Barry. But Leeds failed to get one in despite pushing until the final minutes of January.
Another was Chelsea’s £5m signing Marc Guiu. The Spaniard has only been afforded a handful of sub outings in the Premier League, but has netted six goals in six Europa Conference League appearances.
Leeds were linked with Guiu a day before the deadline. But, a week later, Enzo Maresca confirmed that Guiu could be out for months with a groin injury after coming on as a sub in the win over West Ham.
“Marc unfortunately has a bad injury,” Chelsea boss Maresca confirmed, discussing Guiu’s injury. “We are still waiting but it doesn’t look a short injury. It looks a long injury. Exactly how long, I don’t know.”
Enzo Maresca explains why he decided to keep Leeds target Guiu
Guiu is a top talent and there is no doubt he would have given Leeds another dimension in the final third. But, that he picked up a muscle injury instead of an impact one, shows the strain was a ticking time bomb.
The chances are that Guiu would have suffered the injury whether it would have been in Chelsea blue or Leeds white. The Whites would have been forced into spending cash on wages to get Guiu signed.
However, Maresca has now explained why he decided to turn down Leeds. As per the Mail, he said: “The reason why Marc was still here in January was because I can see, day by day, that he is growing.
“Improving, getting better. It is a shame now that he is injured. The future will for sure be 100 per cent with him because he is a very good player.” Ultimately, Leeds have dodged a bullet in signing Guiu.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
