Marcelo Bielsa took over the reins at Leeds United in the summer of 2018 (Getty Images)
Leeds United are keen on getting strikers Britt Assombalonga and Jordan Hugill from Middlesbrough and West Ham United respectively. Manager Marcelo Bielsa is eager to get his signings right in a bid to enhance the quality of his squad for the upcoming season.
The Peacocks have been frustrated at not being able to bring their primary target Matej Vydra to Elland Road. So they are now looking for alternatives to the Czech Republic striker with Assombalonga and Hugill as priority targets.
The Middlesbrough forward was a club-record signing for a fee of £15m from Nottingham Forest. The 25-year-old didn’t disappoint the Boro fans by scoring 15 goals in 46 appearances in the Championship last season (12 appearances from the bench).
He is a physically rugged centre-forward who possesses the capability to shrug off defenders with ease. He has the propensity to turn defenders around and exhibit good swivel of pace to drive past them.
The 25-year-old embodies the shoot at sight policy with full enhancement, at a rate of 2 shots on goal per game. Not only that, he has an aerial duel win average of 1.2 per game, depicting his capability to be a threat in set pieces and getting knockdowns for midfield runners.
All in all, Assombalonga is a goal-scoring centre-forward and will bring a different dimension to the Leeds forward line.
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Hugill was loaned out by West Ham to Preston North End this January in order to clock up more game time. The 26-year-old did well in the Championship, by scoring 8 goals in 26 appearances and remained a constant goal-threat for the opposition.
Hugill also possesses a good turn of pace mixed with his ineptness to be physically durable with the centre-backs. He can play as a lone striker or in a forward pairing as per the team’s requirement. The Englishman also exhibits a fabulous eye for fabricating key passes towards goal, at a rate of 1.2 per game in the Championship.
Overall, the 26-year-old is more of an all-round striker who can get better under the micro-management of Marcelo Bielsa.
