Leeds United‘s search for an able striker is set to continue further as they have recently dropped their interest in Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah. He currently plies his trade in the Qatar League for Al Sadd SC and was in tremendous goalscoring form in the last campaign. The 26-year-old had made 19 appearances in all competitions and managed a whopping tally of 26 goals.
The reason the Whites have pulled out of the deal is the money being demanded by the Qatari outfit. It’s reported that they wanted £13.25m for their star striker and the English club obviously did not want to pay such an amount for an untested striker.
Ever since the transfer window began, the Peacocks are looking to sign a striker, however, more often than not the stories are coming to no conclusion. There were strong rumours about Leeds signing Abel Hernandez who became a free agent.
However, that news is set to die down soon as he is close to moving to CSKA Moscow. There was also interest for last season’s Championship top scorer Matej Vydra, however, the Whites don’t seem anyway closer in signing the Czech Republic striker.
A lot of names have been doing the rounds apart from the above-mentioned ones and the pressure is mounting on Marcelo Bielsa. The team is in desperate need of an out and out goal scorer. Bounedjah could have been a good bet if he would have come in cheap but the amount wanted by the Middle East side is astronomical.
Last term, the West Yorkshire outfit finished 13th and looked far from challenging for the playoff spot. New manager Bielsa has brought in a lot of positivity at the club but it is clear that this current squad is not good enough to lead the charge for the playoffs. The team needs improvements in almost all the departments and none more so than the striking options.
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Even last season’s top scorer Kemar Roofe is being linked with a move away from the club and that will be a disaster for Bielsa as he looks to rebuild his side for the upcoming season. The start of the term is coming closer and the search for a striker is set to gain pace for Leeds United. Good thing is that they have stopped the pursuit of the Algerian striker Bounedjah as paying £13m for a non-proven striker in England wouldn’t have made any sense.
