Leeds United have hit several roadblocks in the transfer window since announcing the signings of Robin Koch and Rodrigo but that’s not stopping them from persisting…
What’s the word?
According to La Nazione (via Sport Witness), the Yorkshiremen are set to submit a second bid for Fiorentina midfielder Erick Pulgar before the deadline in two weeks time.
They claim that Victor Orta and co are ‘serious’ about signing the 26-year-old and are set to offer around €15m (£14m) this time around. Their initial £10m wasn’t enough to tempt the Serie A outfit into a sale.
Pulgar is seen as a back-up alternative to Udinese powerhouse Rodrigo De Paul, who the Whites have also failed to try and secure in recent weeks.
Bargain?
Well, it is clear to see that Marcelo Bielsa wants another central midfield option in the top-flight this campaign having tried for both De Paul and now Pulgar.
With over £10m difference in price, the 26-year-old Chilean could indeed be the better option to consider – last season, Pulgar provided seven goals and six assists, averaging 2.2 key passes, two tackles and 0.9 shots per game, via WhoScored.
During this campaign, the box-to-box brute twice silenced De Paul’s Udinese and even stopped Juventus’ attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Douglas Costa three games into the season.
Despite being a more defensively proficient option, the 6 foot 2 enforcer is clearly an attacking threat too, so it’s no wonder that he’s been compared to Arturo Vidal in recent years.
The 24-time international also created more chances (81) than former United target Emi Buendia (80) as well as James Maddison (78), Joao Moutinho (76) and Joshua Kimmich (75), making him in illustrious company.
During the 2019 Copa America, Wyscout wrote: “The main stand-out feature of Pulgar’s style is the effectiveness of his long passes. He has an excellent perception to anticipate moves in defensive transitions, which is another point where he stood out in this Copa America.”
Orta shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to sign a talented all-round midfielder who’s available at such an affordable price, they might as well forget about De Paul with Pulgar available for so much less.
AND in other news, Leeds fail with bid for Brighton centre-back…
The post Leeds to submit second bid for Rodrigo De Paul backup Erick Pulgar first appeared on FootballFanCast.com.
