Leeds can sell the worst finisher in Europe by signing “phenomenal” target

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Leeds can sell the worst finisher in Europe by signing “phenomenal” target

Leeds United are currently chasing promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking and are second in the Championship as it stands.

Their 1-1 draw with Preston North End last time out has left them three points behind Sheffield United in the title race, but ahead of Burnley in third place.

This means that the Whites are still well in contention to secure automatic promotion back to the top-flight, after they missed out in the play-offs last season.

The January transfer window officially opens for business at the start of next month and Daniel Farke may want to dip into the market to give his side a push ahead of the second half of the season.

He did utilise the winter window in his last promotion success at Championship level, signing Dimi Giannoulis on loan from PAOK for Norwich in 2021, with the Greek international going on to start 16 games in the second half of the season to help them win the title.

This shows that the German head coach knows the boost that can come from bolstering a promotion-chasing side in January, but he may have to make room for new signings by ditching one or two of his current squad.

The Leeds forward who should be sold in January

One player who should be ruthlessly ditched in the upcoming January transfer window is centre-forward Patrick Bamford, who has been

linked with an exit from Elland Road.

TEAMtalk recently reported that Genoa and Wrexham are both keeping tabs on the English attacker’s situation and could make a move for him, as a transfer away from Leeds is looking likely in 2025.

The Whites should look to take advantage of the growing interest in the former England international’s services and finally part ways with the ex-Chelsea man, who has been at the club since the summer of 2017.

Bamford is the third-choice striker in the squad, behind Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph, and is not doing enough – with zero goals and zero assists this season – to justify Leeds fighting to keep hold of him on a reported £40k-per-week contract.

The 31-year-old centre-forward has been an unreliable player for a lot of his time in West Yorkshire, as he has failed to hit double figures for league goals in four of his six full seasons to date.

In fact, since the start of the 2017/18 campaign – one year before he joined the club – no player in Europe, or the world, in leagues with data available has underperformed their xG by more than Bamford.

Per VisualGame on X, using a table from FBref, the Leeds striker has underperformed by a whopping 23.9 goals – 4.8 more than Florian Sotoca, who has the second-worst xG conversion rate in the world over the last seven years or so.

What makes this statistic even worse is that FBref did not introduce Championship xG data until the 2018/19 campaign, so the forward, who has missed his last three penalties, still tops this list despite his form for Middlesbrough not contributing to it – with 56 league goals from 79.9 xG for Leeds.

With this, and his lack of contribution this season in comparison to his weekly wage, in mind, Farke must ditch Bamford by swooping for one of the club’s reported targets.

Leeds eyeing Premier League forward

Brighton & Hove Albion centre-forward Evan Ferguson has been linked with a temporary move to Elland Road at the start of the January transfer window.

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Former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who is said to be well-connected to the club, urged the club to pursue a deal for the Ireland international next month, as he believes that the Whites need an out-and-out number nine to bolster their squad.

The retired shot-stopper, who is now a pundit, said that the links with Ferguson are not going away and that the “pest”, as he described him, would “get goals” for Leeds in the second half of the season.

Football Insider reported that Brighton are prepared to send the 20-year-old marksman out on loan to get regular game time, as he has been behind Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck in the pecking order.

The outlet added that a number of Premier League clubs are also interested in signing him, which means that Leeds will need to convince him to drop down to the Championship.

Farke must, now, push to get a deal over the line as he could replace the worst finisher in Europe – Bamford – with an impressive finisher at Premier League level.

Why Leeds should sign Evan Ferguson

The Irish forward has failed to establish himself as a regular for Brighton in the top-flight but his record for the club in recent years suggests that the potential is there for him to be a superstar in the Championship.

Ferguson, who was described as “phenomenal” by James Milner, was unable to hit the ground running this season because of an ankle injury that kept him out for 146 days from the start of April to the end of August.

He has, therefore, only started two of his 11 appearances in the Premier League this term, but has scored one goal from 0.36 xG for Brighton.

Premier League career

Evan Ferguson

xG

Goals

Differential

22/23

5.67

6

+0.33

23/24

3.97

6

+2.03

24/25

0.36

1

+0.64

Total

9.99

13

+3.01

Stats via UnderStat

As you can see in the table above, the Ireland international, who only turned 20 in October, had scored 12 goals in the top-flight in the two previous seasons combined.

Ferguson has outperformed his xG by around three goals since his Premier League debut, which shows that the youngster is a ruthless and efficient finisher at the top level.

Whereas, Bamford has proven himself to be the worst finisher in Europe since his Leeds debut, as he has been incredibly wasteful in front of goal at both Premier League and Championship level.

Related

Imagine him & Gnonto: Leeds keen on deal to sign “tricky” 15-goal star

Leeds United are reportedly eyeing a swoop for the promising attacker in January.

Therefore, Farke could improve his squad for the second half of the season by ditching the struggling Englishman and signing the lethal Irish marksman.

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