As Daniel Farke made clear a few months back, Leeds United will be in no position to intensify their summer plans until it becomes clear which division they will be playing their football in come 2025/26.
Can Leeds United afford their more expensive transfer targets? Can Leeds afford to tie down high-earners such as Junior Firpo?
Those are questions which Farke and co cannot answer quite yet. Not with promotion to the Premier League still very much on the line.
Farke felt the 1-1 draw at Luton Town was a ‘good point’ in the circumstances. It was, however, a result which sees Leeds slip to third and out of the automatic promotion positions, even if Sheffield United’s shock defeat at Oxford later in the day offset that frustration to an extent.
As such, as long as Leeds’ fate remains uncertain, so too does the size of their summer budget.
The Yorkshire giants have been linked with a host of talented centre-forwards already since the turn of the year.
Leeds are reportedly targeting Wilson Isidor and Josh Sargent. Two of the hottest hitman in the Championship at Sunderland and Norwich City respectively. Both might just be attainable on a high-end second-tier budget.
The likes of Evann Guessand – the Tottenham-linked Nice forward is valued at £20 million – are, however, probably only achievable with Premier League riches.
Exactly where Vladyslav Vanat falls on the scale, though, is anyone’s guess at this stage.
Ukrainian reporter explains Leeds United’s Vladyslav Vanat stance
Football correspondent Graeme Bailey told TBR Football last month that Leeds are on the trail of the Ukraine international. So too are a number of top-flight clubs. Including Brentford, Fulham, Wolves and West Ham.
Vanat secured the Ukrainian Premier League’s Golden Boot after notching 14 goals for Dynamo Kyiv last season. With 13 in 20 games this term – 17 in all competitions – the 23-year-old marksman is well on his way to successive top scorer crowns.
And while his price-tag has yet to be revealed, the expectation is that Vanat will become the latest high-profile departure from Ukrainian football.
Vadim Shabliy, the agent who helped secure moves to Chelsea and Everton for Mykhaylo Mudryk and Vitaliy Mykolenko, feels that Vanat ‘can play successfully in the Premier League’. Shabliy highlights his ‘good tactical awareness’ and his ‘high efficiency’ in the final third as two attributes which should ease any adaptation.
Right now, however, Leeds’ interest is just that. Interest.
Ukrainian reporter Mikhail Spivakovsky backs up Bailey’s claims that Vanat is indeed under consideration at Elland Road. At this stage, though, he joins Isidor, Sargent, Guessand and co on a long list of targets.
One which will be shortened considerably when transfer seasons moves in and Leeds’ fate is finally revealed.
“I can only comment on one of the [rumours] and that is the one related to Leeds,” Spivakovsky explains.
“[Vanat] is not on a shortlist. It is a more extensive list. [Leeds] continues to monitor Vanat but other clubs are mentioned in the press. In particular, Fulham.”
Vanat’s agent thinks he can become ‘an outstanding striker’ amid Elland Road interest
Leeds remain the highest-scoring team in the Championship by a distance, even if their form and the goals have dried up of late. Farke needed a Dan James stunner to salvage a point at Luton, with Manor Solomon skewing their best chance for a late winner high over the bar.
Question marks still remain around Joel Piroe’s consistency, even if the Dutchman is still in with a shout at the Golden Boot.
“I think Vladislav demonstrates stable and high-quality performances,” Shabliy explains of his highly-rated, Leeds-linked client. “He has good tactical thinking and understanding of the game, and this helps him score many goals in the league. High efficiency at a young age is a good sign.
“If he maintains the current rate of progress, he has every chance to become a strong and an outstanding striker.
“Adaptability is a very important skill in football now, so I think the younger the player, the easier it is for him to integrate and adapt to the style of play required by the team. Vanat can play successfully in both Serie A and the Premier League.
“His move to one league or another will depend on which club offers him the best conditions for development and the best opportunity to realise his potential. Also, the conditions of the potential club must match the transfer requirements of his current team, Dynamo Kyiv.”
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