Despite a promising performance on Saturday in Manchester, Leeds are still in trouble.
Leeds showed plenty of fight during that 3-2 defeat against Pep Guardiola’s side when coming back from two goals down, but Daniel Farke still sits 18th in the Premier League nonetheless, and has overseen six defeats in the last eight games.
More new signings are therefore a priority in the winter transfer window, and Leeds are now looking at Chibuike Nwaiwu – but who is the Nigerian? Let’s take a look.
Leeds United monitoring a rising Nigerian star in Chibuike Nwaiwu
It was Top Mercato who claimed that Leeds have been alerted to the Nigerian along with PSG, and you can see why as his star continues to rise at Wolfsberger.
Nwaiwu is already a regular for the Austrian side at the age of 22, playing 90 minutes in ten of his 11 Bundesliga appearances so far this season.
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Should Leeds – who also like Tylel Tati of Nantes – actually manage to sign the man born in Port Harcourt, he would bring plenty of versatility to Yorkshire with him.
Nwaiwu has played many games in three different positions throughout his career so far, primarily operating as a central defender with 45 appearances in that area – but he can also cover two midfield spots.
The Wolfsberger No.27 has previously played 28 games as a defensive midfielder, and 18 as a more traditional central midfielder.
| Position | Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre-Back | 45 | 4 | 2 |
| Defensive Midfield | 28 | 2 | 3 |
| Central Midfield | 18 | 0 | 1 |
Standing at a towering 6ft 4in as well, Nwaiwu would presumably be suited to the physicality of English football.
- Name: Chibuike Godfrey Nwaiwu
- Date of birth: 23rd July 2003
- Place of birth: Port Harcourt
- Age: 22
- Club: Wolfsberger
- Nation: Nigeria
- Position: Central defender
- Height: 6ft 4in
- Preferred foot: Right
However, he is not just a strong aerial presence.
Interestingly – as the CIES Football Observatory shows – the Leeds target also ranks as one of the best defenders around when it comes to ground duels, even outdoing Marc Cucurella.
Nwaiwu is 37th on the list out of the best 50 defenders on the planet for this metric.
Chibuike Nwaiwu fits the transfer policy Leeds United are focused on under Daniel Farke
Farke – who could be sacked this week – specifically targeted physical footballers during the summer transfer window, according to the Guardian.
Anton Stach, who also stands at 6ft 4in like Nwaiwu, arrived from Hoffenheim, while the two strikers signed in Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are 6ft 1in and 6ft 2in respectively.
Who do you want Leeds to sign in January? A striker surely has to be the priority!
Sean Longstaff is also 6ft 2in whereas Jaka Bijol is 6ft 3in.
Therefore, Nwaiwu aligns with the current transfer policy at Elland Road, adding an interesting dimension to this rumour.
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