Why Leeds United should go all out for Christian Kouame of Fiorentina
According to La Nazione (h/t Daily Star), Leeds United gaffer Marcelo Bielsa wants to bring in Christian Kouame of Fiorentina. It is being said that he has asked the club chiefs to secure the signing in a bid to strengthen his attack. He is also said to have asked for Kouame’s teammate Erick Pulgar.
Profile
Christian Kouame started his professional career with Prato in the Italian third-tier during the 2015-16 season before rising to prominence with Cittadella in Serie B. A promising tally of 15 goals and 15 assists in 63 appearances paved the way for a switch to the top-flight with Genoa in the summer of 2018. (h/t Transfermarkt)
The 23-year-old went on to enjoy an impressive debut season in the Serie A, registering 4 goals and 5 assists in 38 league appearances as Genoa narrowly survived relegation. He followed it up with 5 goals in 11 league games during the first half of the 2019-20 campaign before joining Fiorentina in January, initially on loan with an obligation to make the move permanent. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Kouame, though, has struggled for regular game time in Florence, scoring only twice in 22 appearances for La Viola in all competitions. The versatile forward has earned 3 caps for Ivory Coast at the senior international level.
Kouame would add to Leeds’ depth in attack
The Whites have had a rather mixed season so far in their return to the Premier League. They have won 7 games and lost 8 while drawing two. It was only recently that they got back to some form after wins against Burnley and West Brom.
Quite how they got themselves promoted with just Patrick Bamford as their sole striker is hard to figure out. The Englishman scored a bulk of the team’s goals. But this season it is clear that he needs someone else to chip in with the goals occasionally so that he does not burn out in the second half of the season.
While Rodrigo Moreno was signed for big money, he has predominantly been used as an attacking midfielder. Now the problem is there is no other senior striker to call upon in the event Bamford is injured or needs to be rested.
Putting things into context, Leeds completing a deal for Christian Kouame in January would be a brilliant long-term investment. Things might not have fallen into place for the Ivorian at Fiorentina but his past exploits at Genoa prove that he’s more than capable of thriving at the highest level in Europe.
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Verdict
Essentially a centre-forward by trade, Kouame has the versatility to operate as a wide attacker on either side of the pitch. The Ivorian would offer Bielsa some valuable cover and quality in multiple areas across the forward line in the years to come.
Despite his lack of game time at Fiorentina, Christian Kouame remains an exciting young player with plenty of room for development and under Bielsa, he can do just that.
