Italian news outlet, Gazza Mercato claims that Leeds United have flown Jerry Mbakogu to England to sign him to a 4-year contract. The transfer has been reported to have cost the Peacocks £3.1m.
The Carpi FC 1909 striker has been on United’s radar for quite some time, ranging from their efforts to get him in the January window. The 25-year-old is born of Nigerian descent and has scored the ball 8 times in 28 appearances, 6 of them scored in the Serie B.
Mbakogu, who was born in Lagos, almost immediately moved to Italy with his family. He started his playing career with Padova youth academy at 14 years of age. He had to earn his playing time by breaking through the youth ranks but somehow could not manage a starting XI spot and had to be loaned out to Palermo. The Nigerian’s Serie B debut came in August 2010 in a 1-1 draw against Crotone.
He has racked up 37 goals and 21 assists in total 132 appearances for Carpi and has greatly improved as a professional. He is versatile enough to appear in any position in the final third.
It is no secret that the Whites could do with some restrengthening ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, especially in the strike position.
Pierre Michel Lasogga has just bid goodbye to the fans at Elland Road, ending his loan spell and returning to his parent club, Hamburg. His position remains up for grabs and hopefully, Mbakogu will be the one to fill it.
What started out to be one of the best chances of pushing for a promotion very quickly turned into a dark and hopeless affair for United this season. They have finished 13th in the league after managing to baffle the football world with their shocking dip in form.
Their front line was not firing on all cylinders and neither were their defence solid. Thomas Christiansen’s incompetence could not be corrected by Paul Heckingbottom who was appointed earlier in the year to get the team back to winning ways.
Samuel Saiz is one of the most talented players in the squad but he often lets everyone down with his misconduct on the pitch. Lasogga had his fair share of troubles in front of the goal and with recurring injuries. Pawel Cibicki is not the ideal striker to lead the Peacocks’ attacking lineup and is far better as a second-string option.
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The Polish-Swedish striker might just be on his way out of the club too, leaving Mbakogu with almost an uncontested number nine role.
