Leeds target 122-goal Roma attacker after Paixao miss as three-player Farke wishlist emerges – reports

Leeds United have been credited with a strong interest in signing Roma striker Artem Dovbyk, with reports in the Italian press revealing the Serie A side’s asking price for the powerful Ukrainian striker, while two new wingers have also come on to Daniel Farke’s radar in the wake of the Whites missing out on Igor Paixao.

The Championship champions have been feverishly adding to their squad as they prepare to embark on the challenge of re-establishing themselves back among the Premier League elite after a two-year absence. And while seven exciting signings have arrived so far, to the tune of a £65m (€75m, $87m) investment, Leeds United are now ready to turn to attacking additions to add that little sprinkling of star dust to their side.

However, one man who won’t be signing is Paixao. The Whites made two concerted bids to sign the Brazilian winger from Feyenoord and despite claims their second offer had indeed been accepted, the electric forward has instead given the green light to a move to Marseille instead.

Unperturbed by that setback, Leeds are now reported to have identified three other exciting targets to light up their attack in the upcoming season, with two English-based wingers on their radar, in addition to Roma hotshot Dovbyk.

The Ukraine international striker secured the move to the Stadio Olimpico last summer off the back of an excellent season with Girona, who he had fired into the Champions League with an impressive 24-goal haul.

However, the 28-year-old’s move to the Italian capital has not quite gone to plan, and despite notching a respectable 17 goals in 45 games, his performances have divided the fanbase and he now finds his position in the side under threat from the arrival of loan signing Evan Ferguson from Brighton.

According to Italian outlet Leggo, via Romapress, the Giallorossi are now ‘open’ to the 122-goal striker’s sale and have made it clear to suitors that they would entertain offers if anyone matches their €35m (£30m, $40m) valuation.

Describing the striker as ‘no longer untouchable’ the player is also said to have attracted the attention of both West Ham and Crystal Palace, while interest also comes from Turkey in the form of Besiktas.

While there is nothing concrete from a Leeds end to confirm if the interest is genuine, the Whites are also being linked with three others wingers, with both Fiorentina’s Riccardo Sottil and Jota Silva of Nottingham Forest suggested as targets….

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Leeds United linked with three wingers after Paixao miss

According to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Leeds are plotting a move for Sottil, who is back with La Viola after a period on loan with AC Milan, who negated their option to sign the player on a permanent basis.

That report is also backed up by transfer journalist Sebastien Vidal, who claims that the Whites have now ‘made contact’ with Fiorentina for the 26-year-old Fiorentina winger, who is looking for a way out this summer.

Per the report, Leeds face competition from Torino, who are keen on a loan with an option to buy.

Transfer journalist Ekrem Konur, meanwhile, believes Leeds will turn to Jota Silva from Nottingham Forest. He claims the Portugal winger, often cited as a Jack Grealish lookalike, is currently in talks over a move to Sporting CP, who are willing to pay €10m for his services. However, the possible move could yet be hijacked by Leeds amid claims Forest are hoping for a fee nearer the €15m (£13m, $17.3m) mark.

Unconfirmed rumours also suggested that Leeds could join several other Premier League sides in the hunt to sign Leicester winger El Khannouss, who was probably the stand-out player for the Foxes last season as they were relegated from the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Briefly linked with Arsenal earlier this summer, talkSPORT claim Nottinhgam Forest, Everton and Sunderland are among his admirers and are considering a potential swoop after news of a £22.5m relegation release clause in his contract emerged.

Leeds transfer round-up: Bamford decision praised; Isaac Schmidt to leave

Farke’s decision to axe long-serving striker Patrick Bamford ahead of United’s return to the Premier League has been praised by a pundit who claims the former England striker is a long way past his best, while serious questions have been asked about the motives of his wantaway teammate Mateo Joseph.

Elsewhere, the Whites have been given serious encouragement that a £50m-rated striker could be the next to move to Elland Road after it was revealed the player is aware of their interest and is open to the possible move.

On the outgoing front, Leeds are in talks over the departure of full-back Isaac Schmidt, who only joined the Whites last summer.

But after failing to catch Farke’s eye, the Switzerland international looks set to move on amid claims he has reached an agreement in principle to join Werder Bremen.

Artem Dovbyk style of play and 2024-25 review

By Samuel Bannister

Standing at 1.89m tall, Dovbyk is a bulky, stocky centre-forward who’s more about power than pace.

In the 2023-24 season, he was the top scorer in LaLiga, helping Girona qualify for the Champions League. Of the 24 goals that won him that accolade, six were headers and seven were penalties.

Dovbyk is the type of striker who thrives on receiving crosses and being able to finish with conviction in the box. But his move to Roma has so far gathered mixed results. His new club went through three different coaches in his debut season, which didn’t help his chances of building momentum.

Roma didn’t always play to Dovbyk’s strengths, but they would have liked to have seen more movement and link-up play from him and by the end of the season were starting to play with a second striker alongside him to help out.

The Ukrainian does have the capability of holding the ball up well and laying it off, but by the end of last season, he was struggling to feed the ball to teammates. He lost possession 236 times from 32 Serie A appearances and had a pass completion rate of just under 75%.

But if a striker’s main job is finishing, Dovbyk still presented an acceptable return, with 17 goals in all competitions and a shot accuracy above 56%, which was actually a better ratio than the league’s top scorer, Mateo Retegui. Serie A can be a tough nut to crack for strikers, and Dovbyk wasn’t Roma’s regular penalty taker like he was for Girona, scoring just two of them in the league, so it could have been over-ambitious to expect him to match his Girona return.

However, with Roma’s new coach Gian Piero Gasperini favouring a high-mobility game plan, Dovbyk has a question mark over his future.

He would be a good focal point for a team that can put crosses in the box often – as he sometimes benefited from with Angelino and Alexis Saelemaekers at wing-back for Roma last season – but also with runners around him in the no.10 positions.