Britt Assombalonga
According to The Mirror, Leeds United have set their sights on Middlesbrough striker Britt Assombalonga.
The Whites have been short of cover in front of goal since Eddie Nketiah was recalled by Arsenal earlier in the month and they have now identified the 27-year-old as a replacement for their departed loanee.
Assombalonga, who has scored 6 times in 20 appearances for Middlesbrough in the Championship so far this season, hasn’t played for the Teessiders since early December due to an ankle injury. The Congolese returned to training on Sunday, however.
The Kinshasa-born striker started his career at Watford but he failed to make the grade in Hertfordshire and spent time on loan at Wealdstone, Braintree Town and Southend United before earning a permanent move to Peterborough United in the third-tier.
A 33-goal season for the Posh in the League One paved the way for the switch to Nottingham Forest back in the summer of 2014 and Assombalonga went on to plunder 30 goals in 69 appearances for the Reds before switching boats to join Middlesbrough in 2017 for a fee of £15 million.
Despite Boro struggling to challenge for promotion since their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season, the Congolese hitman has done his reputation no harm.
The 27-year-old, who has hit the 15-goal mark in each of his previous couple of campaigns at the Riverside Stadium, was one of the shining lights in Jonathan Woodgate’s struggling side this season before an injury thwarted his progress.
Meanwhile, Leeds United are in danger of seeing their surge for automatic promotion derailed once again this term after losing back-to-back league fixtures against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR.
The Whites slipped in the promotion race from a position of strength last season and those demons seem to have returned to haunt them once again, with the West Yorkshire giants managing only a solitary win in their last eight games across all competitions.
With Leeds failing to find the net in any of their last three games and the January window gradually nearing its closing stages, a replacement for Nketiah should be a top priority for Marcelo Bielsa.
Patrick Bamford, who has netted 10 times in the Championship so far, continues to be Bielsa’s undisputed first-choice centre-forward to lead the attack. However, he has failed to find the net in any of his last five league games and his dip in form has coincided with the club’s recent slump.
To that end, Assombalonga could just be the ideal man to answer Leeds United’s prayers for a proven goalscorer in the Championship, given his overall career strike-rate of 65 goals in 175 appearances in the English second-tier.
Leeds United completing a raid on Middlesbrough for Britt Assombalonga would be the right strategy moving forward.