Who is Rodrigo Muniz? Meet the top transfer target who could fire Leeds United to Premier League safety

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Leeds United want to enhance their attacking options for the Premier League and have their sights set on Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz.

Lukas Nmecha became the first signing of the summer for Leeds United when he arrived on a free and Jaka Bijol is expected to be the second.

Having bulked up his defence and added a versatile forward, Daniel Farke now wants to bring in a new starting striker to guarantee crucial goals in the Premier League survival battle.

Fulham star Rodrigo Muniz has been settled on as the top target and here is everything you need to know about him.

• Who is Jaka Bijol? Leeds United are closing in on the ‘intelligent’ defender, all you need to know

Who is Rodrigo Muniz?

Rodrigo Muniz Carvalho is a Brazilian striker who plays for Premier League side Fulham.

Muniz rose through the ranks at Desportivo Brasil before earning his first big move to giants Flamengo. He spent three years there, which included a brief loan spell at Coritiba, before departing Rio de Janeiro for London.

Fulham signed the forward for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £6.8m in 2021 but he struggled for minutes in his first season, despite scoring five goals.

Muniz then spent a disappointing year on loan in the Championship with Middlesbrough, where he scored just twice as knee problems limited him to 17 games.

Yet, upon his return to Craven Cottage, Muniz suddenly began to find his form and hit double figures in his last two campaigns, even though he’s behind Raul Jimenez in the pecking order.

Opening the door for a potential move to Leeds.

Rodrigo Muniz to Leeds United transfer news

Muniz first emerged as a surprise Leeds target in early June and fans soon got excited, given he scored a better xG per 100 touches than Erling Haaland last season.

Fulham want to keep Muniz and are set to offer him a new contract after Leeds’ opening bid of £32m was rejected.

However, Fulham may let Muniz go if they sign target Ricardo Pepi, though it’s going to take a club record fee for Leeds to sign him.

Praise for Rodrigo Muniz

Muniz has previously caught the eye of Alan Shearer and earned praise from the iconic goal-scorer.

Speaking to Match Of The Day in 2024, Shearer detailed how Muniz was ‘horrible’ for Bournemouth defenders when Fulham defeated them 3-1.

“He really was a handful. Tough to play against, horrible to play against in fact. That’s always a good thing for a centre-forward, that’s what you have to be,” he said.

“He was strong, he ran the channels, he brought players into the game, and he really upset the Bournemouth defenders in every way, in everything he was doing. He was willing to run in behind and on one of the occasions, he does it, they got their first goal because of it.

“He was barging defenders out of the way, and I really enjoyed his performance. That’s what you have to do.”

Rodrigo Muniz age

Rodrigo Muniz was born on May 4, 2001, Sao Domingos do Prata, Brazil. As of June 2025, he is 24 years old.

Rodrigo Muniz height

Muniz stands at 6’1″ tall, which makes him a strong physical presence up front but still gives him a quick burst of pace.

Rodrigo Muniz wages

According to Salary Sport, Muniz earns just £10,000 a week at Fulham.

That figure does seem unrealistically low but, if it is true, Leeds would be able to offer him a significant pay rise without massively ballooning their wage bill.

Rodrigo Muniz stats

Here are Muniz’s career stats for his four clubs so far.

Rodrigo Muniz Instagram and X/Twitter accounts

You can find Muniz’s Instagram account @r.muniz. He has an impressive 385k followers.

Muniz can also be found on X, formerly Twitter, @RodrigoMuniz09.