Leeds make approach to sign £22.5m magician

Leeds United are currently building a squad that has the quality to avoid being relegated from the Premier League at the first time of asking next season.

The Whites have already done plenty of business throughout the summer transfer window, signing Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Lukas Nmecha, Sean Longstaff, and Anton Stach.

You can see from the profiles of the players listed there that the Championship champions have placed a clear focus on bolstering the defensive side of the squad in the first part of the window, as Nmecha is the only attacking player among them.

Daniel Farke and his recruitment staff must shift their focus towards the attacking areas of the pitch in the coming days, though, as they need to add enough quality to score goals consistently in the top-flight.

The German head coach has to be ruthless with his squad by deciding which players in his attack are not suited to make the step up to the Premier League.

One player who the West Yorkshire outfit should be looking to replace as a starter before the end of the summer transfer window is Brenden Aaronson.

Why Leeds should replace Brenden Aaronson

Leeds should be replacing the USA international ahead of next season because he did not show enough quality in the Championship to suggest that he is ready to be a key player in the Premier League.

When Aaronson played in the top-flight for the Whites in the 2022/23 campaign, the attacking midfielder managed just one goal and three assists, underperforming his xG of 3.86.

The drop down to play in the Championship last season, after a year on loan at Union Berlin, did help him to contribute more at the top end of the pitch, and there were some impressive moments from him.

Aaronson ended the season with a return of nine goals and two assists in 46 appearances in the second tier, starting 43 of those games, which was a solid, but unspectacular haul.

However, the 24-year-old flop underperformed his xG once again in a Leeds shirt, with nine goals from 11.43 xG, and struggled badly against the top teams.

As you can see in the table above, the American midfielder did not produce a single goal or assist in any of his ten appearances against the other five teams that made up the top six in the Championship.

Supporters should, therefore, be happy to read that the club are reportedly interested in a deal to sign an attacking midfielder who would arrive as a big upgrade on Aaronson.

Leeds make approach to sign new attacking midfielder

According to GIVEMESPORT, Leeds United have made an approach to Leicester City over a potential deal to sign 21-year-old talent Bilal El Khannouss this summer.

The report claims that the Whites are pursuing a move for the Morocco international to bolster their options in midfield, and that they have made enquiries to the Championship side.

It adds that West Ham United and a number of unnamed clubs are also interested in signing the attacking midfielder, which means that Leeds will face plenty of competition to land his signature.

GIVEMESPORT also reveals that El Khannouss has a release clause in his contract with Leicester. He is available for a fee of around £22m (£22.5m), as the release clause was activated when the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League.

Leeds have now made contact to find out what the terms are to pay the release clause, and it now remains to be seen what their next move will be.

Why this is bad news for Brenden Aaronson

This latest report should come as bad news to Aaronson, because El Khannouss could arrive at Elland Road to be a big upgrade on the USA international.

As aforementioned, the current Leeds dud failed to produce enough quality on the pitch in the Premier League when he last played in the division, and his underwhelming performances in the Championship do not suggest that he is likely to make the step up.

El Khannouss’ performances for the Foxes, meanwhile, suggest that he could offer more to Farke’s side in the number ten position if they sign him to come in and replace Aaronson in that role.

U23 scout Antonio Mango claimed that the 21-year-old’s talent is “unquestionable”, and it is not hard to see why he is held in such high esteem when you consider that he created eight ‘big chances’ in 27 Premier League starts in a team that got relegated, in his first year in England.

As you can see in the table above, the Leicester star’s output last season in the top-flight was significantly more impressive than what Aaronson produced two years ago.

These statistics suggest that the £22.5m-rated dynamo has the potential to offer more to Leeds in the final third and in build-up play, as he has the ability to progress attacks with passes and carries, whilst also being able to score and create chances more often.

El Khannouss is still a young player who is learning and developing, which also means that he could be a signing with the future in mind, as well as the here and now.

The Leeds target did only score two goals in 27 starts in the division, but those two goals came from an xG of 1.31. This suggests that Farke would need to find a way for the team to get him into more goalscoring positions throughout the season.

Overall, though, the Moroccan magician’s creativity and dynamism could add a different dimension to the team’s attack that they lacked with Aaronson in the side in their last Premier League adventure, which is why this is bad news to the American, who may find himself on the bench more often than not.