Farke could land his own Raphinha with Leeds swoop for “explosive” £13m dynamo within days
The Napoli star could bring Elland Road back to life this summer.
Leeds United are entering a new chapter this summer with a full takeover from the 49ers, a newly-appointed manager in Daniel Farke and a huge challenge ahead of them in the Championship.
The Whites were relegated from the Premier League after a struggle to find the recipe for success and consistency at Elland Road last season, with important players departing and three different managers trying to find a solution to the struggles on the pitch.
As a result, the supporters will be hoping that a fresh start is ahead of them and after many changes behind the scenes the main focus can return to performances on the pitch and earning an instant bounce-back to the top-flight over the 46-game campaign ahead in the second tier.
In terms of the summer transfer window, following a number of departures there is still a lot of work to be done to get the terraces in West Yorkshire rocking by deploying a team that can compete from automatic promotion.
Who are Leeds’ transfer targets?
Despite kicking off their opening game of the season this weekend, the west Yorkshire outfit are still linked to a number of players including Liverpool’s Nathaniel Phillips, Manchester City’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Swansea City’s Joel Piroe.
However, there is one player who has been linked that would show the club’s ambitious intent to not only secure promotion but challenge again comfortably in the Premier League beyond next season.
According to Mexican news outlet W Deportes, Leeds have been in talks to sign Napoli winger Hirving Lozano this summer, an incredible talent who could be Farke’s very own Raphinha.
How good is Hirving Lozano?
There is no doubt that the signing of Lozano would a monumental achievement for Leeds given the situation they have found themselves in and considering the player is currently playing Champions League football with his Serie A side.
However, it is fair to say that a spark at Elland Road burnt out when Raphinha departed for Barcelona last summer, something that was painfully obvious last season with Leeds missing that huge quality and game-changer in their squad.
Now Farke could emulate the Brazilian’s impact on Leeds by acquiring the services of Lozano and providing the squad with a creative talent and consistent outlet to serve in the attacking threat.
The Mexico international – who has a reported £13m price tag – ranks in the top 20% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for progressive carries, interceptions and blocks, as well as ranking in the top 30% for successful take-ons and touches, as per FBref.
When comparing Lozano’s output to Raphinha’s last season, the pair shared many similarities in key attacking attributes including shots on target rate (31.7% v 31.6%), pass completion rate (75% v 72.3%), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.45 v 0.65) and successful take-ons (48.7% v 42.5%).
Lozano has even been compared to Lionel Messi by former Everton sporting director Marcel Brands, who compared the 28-year-old’s strengths to those of the World Cup winner:
“When you look at his playing style, without wanting to compare, you know, Lozano has what Messi also has – a centre of gravity low to the ground, the ball is usually quickly under control, very explosive and agile. Then your opponents automatically force mistakes.”
With that being said, if an opportunity arises for Leeds to sign Lozano this summer it is one they should not miss, as his talent and quality would be an incredibly valuable asset to the team next season
