Should Leeds United still pursue Jerry Mbakogu?
Newly-appointed Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa must build a squad capable of playing his famed high-octane brand of football. But to do so, they must make some quality signings this summer.
Serie B outfit, Carpi, have been unable to make Federico Melchiorri’s deal from Cagliari permanent after Leeds United stalled on a deal for Jerry Mbakogu. Leeds have been heavily linked with a move for Mbakogu since the winter transfer window, with a deal likely to be completed this summer. According to LeedsLive (Update at 13:58), however, Leeds have cooled down their pursuit.
Now, according to Cagliari News 24, Carpi’s attempts to sign Melchiorri was hinged on the successful sale of Mbakogu. In fact, the club could have used the proceeds of Mbakogu’s transfer to fund their deal for Melchiorri and still keep a sizeable amount as pocket change.
Interestingly enough, the appointment of Bielsa has seen the transfer saga take another turn. To compete at the highest level, Bielsa must sign an all-around forward who can contribute to the team’s game play and there remain doubts as to whether or not Mbakogu fits the profile.
TMW claims that Leeds have even tried restructuring the deal due to concerns that the striker only played a handful of games towards the business end of last season. Although the 25-year-old suffered a knee injury that sidelined him, he still managed to register eight goals from 28 games.
To be fair, Leeds must look for bigger names after the capture of Bielsa. Hence, their hesitation to sign Mbakogu does not seem surprising since it’s evident that he is not a priority target at the moment. There are bigger fishes to catch at Elland Road at the moment, and Mbakogu doesn’t fit the profile of the striker they must sign.
It will be interesting to see how this one ends after dragging on for months. Are Leeds United pulling the plug on the deal or is this just another transfer manoeuvre to land the player for a lower fee? Can Carpi see the deal over the line? Only time will tell.
