Leeds United and Azzedine Ounahi - transfer state of play after Whites’ £39m January decision - YEP 16/1/23
Leeds United are weighing up their options when it comes to further January transfer window action, specifically over Azzedine Ounahi.
By Graham Smyth
The Whites feel like they're in a solid position with their
recruitment, two weeks ahead of the transfer deadline, having got their
priority targets through the door already. Left-back and striker were the two
positions in which Victor Orta wanted to strengthen this month and both Max
Wober, of RB Salzburg, and Georginio Rutter, of Hoffenheim, have arrived to
bolster Jesse Marsch's options.
Wober cost the club in the region of £11m, while Rutter
represents a club record deal thanks to an initial fee of £28m - although Leeds
will, as they do with most transfers, spread that cost over the length of his
contract.
The YEP reported last week that Leeds could seek to add to
the midfield area as well this month, following the loss of Mateusz Klich to
MLS outfit DC United and they're currently mulling over their options.
Ounahi is a player Orta has been assessing for some time but
his price tag, along with the potential competition for his signature, are
potential sticking points. Leeds did look at the 22-year-old in the summer,
when they were quoted between £8m and £12m, but following a breakout World Cup
display for Morocco he could now cost somewhere in the region of £25m.
Orta did address the player’s situation on the record with
Radio Marca following the World Cup, suggesting that Ounahi outperformed the
standards he had previously set with club side Angers in France. Ounahi’s
performances were such that Leeds’ majority owner Andrea Radrizzani was
messaging Orta about his transfer status.
Serie A leaders Napoli are also said to be keen, leaving
Leeds to consider whether to move for another target as things start to shift
elsewhere in the latter stages of the window, or try and get Ounahi done prior
to the deadline.
The club insists they are content with Marsch's midfield as
it stands thanks to the early-season form of Tyler Adams, who has taken to the
Premier League like a duck to water, and his partner Marc Roca. The latter also
displayed impressive initial form, although that has wavered a little in recent
weeks. Marsch has Sam Greenwood and Adam Forshaw in place as back up for the
first-choice pairing, with Darko Gyabi impressing in his cameos so far and
Archie Gray expected back in training soon after an ankle issue surfaced.
It's unlikely, at this stage, that there will be much more
in the way of senior recruitment this month, although the emergence of loan
interest in goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson could lead to the introduction of
another young stopper, if the Norwegian heads out for gametime elsewhere.
And Leeds are also currently tracking a teenage centre-back
who plies his trade in Portugal and would be seen initially as a player for the
Under 21s squad if a deal could be done at the end of the window.