Football League World
·3 December 2024
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·3 December 2024
We asked our Leeds United fan pundit whether he thinks they should join the race for Louie Barry, but he wants to see them look elsewhere.
This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Leeds United are well in contention to achieve automatic promotion from the Championship this season, so the January transfer window could prove to be vital if they are going to make a top-two spot their own during the remainder of the campaign.
Leeds would be top of the table in the second tier on goal difference if they had managed to secure a victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday, but they suffered a 1-0 defeat after failing to find the net for the sixth time this season in all competitions.
Middlesbrough and Norwich City are the only sides to have scored more goals than Leeds in the Championship this season, so Daniel Farke must be frustrated with the amount of points that his team has dropped as a result of not scoring in five of their 18 league games so far.
Therefore, the Whites may consider signing an attacking option in January to give them another dynamic when things are not going their way in the final third, and Stockport County loanee Louie Barry could be seen as a player who has the ability to provide something different.
We asked our Leeds fan pundit, Kris Smith, whether he thinks Leeds should join the likes of Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday in the race for Barry, amid reports that he is set to be recalled by Aston Villa and sent back out on loan to a Championship club in January.
"I don't really doubt that half of the Championship are going to be on high alert if Barry is recalled from Stockport and is going to be shipped out to the Championship," said Kris.
"He is definitely earning that chance to be playing higher than League One - he is sort of making a mockery of it at the moment with Stockport - but I don't really see him as someone that Leeds should be looking at.
"He's largely coming off the left at the moment for Stockport, and that would be another player for that side of the pitch that Leeds would have to find a way to fit into the team.
"He wouldn't really solve any of our current problems when you've got Willy Gnonto, Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon all fighting for that position already.
"It would be a solution for someone like Middlesbrough given that they're probably crying out for someone off that left-hand side, like they've got Ben Doak on the right.
"However, there is a League One attacker that I do think should be on Leeds' radar because of how much he fits, and it's Kwame Poku at Peterborough.
"He's got more goals and assists combined than Barry this season in League One, and he plays on the right, where he'd actually be a perfect fit for what Leeds need in the new year in terms of an attacking signing.
"His contract is up in the summer I'm pretty sure, Leeds need someone to play in that role, and we'd be able to get him permanently as well, so he should be an obvious target for me over Barry."
Barry and Poku have both starred in League One, with 13 and 10 league goals respectively so far this term. The latter has also provided five assists in the third tier, which puts him ahead of Barry by one when it comes to goal contributions.
It would be no surprise to see both players make a move to the Championship during the upcoming January transfer window, and Leeds should at least consider the possibility of bringing one of them to Elland Road.
Leeds supporters would no doubt be intrigued to see what either of them could contribute to their promotion challenge during the second half of the season, but if Kris' viewpoint on the situation is anything to go by, Poku is the man that they should be targeting to compete with Dan James for a spot on the right-hand side.