‘Plenty Of Competition’ – Leeds United Win Race For Top Prospect | OneFootball

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Leeds United have beaten off ‘plenty of competition’ to snap up young striker Ditmir Hodja, compared to Kai Havertz in style, from North Macedonian side Rabotnicki Skopje, according to the Daily Mail.

The Whites have focused on strengthening the senior squad this summer, with James Trafford and Tarik Muharemovic both eye catching and expensive additions to Daniel Farke’s group.

The club though continue to keep an eye on top talents to slot into the Thorp Arch machine, which is renowned for pushing players into the first team.

Striker Hodja, who is a free agent following the end of his deal at Rabotnicki Skopje, is a talent the Whites have been chasing.

There has been ‘plenty of competition’ for his signature, but it is Leeds who have made the most compelling case and convinced the striker to join; they will pay a compensation fee for his services.

The 18-year-old has been compared to Arsenal’s Havertz in terms of the style of his game and Leeds will want to continue to work on it when he arrives in Yorkshire.

The move may bring back some memories of another striker from an obscure league that Leeds signed, in the shape of Caleb Ekuban.

While Ekuban was on the books at Italian side Chievo Verona when Leeds signed him, it was a loan spell at Albanian side Partizani Tirana which put him on the Whites’ radar.

Ekuban struggled to live up to his promise at Leeds, but did later show his ability during a successful spell in Turkey at Trabzonspor.

He initially made a big early impact and his pace caught the eye of a former Leeds star, who dubbed it ‘phenomenal’.

Ekuban though was soon told by Whites legend Eddie Gray that he had to be putting good chances away, which he was not doing.

The Whites will hope that Hodja can be more clinical than Ekuban proved to be.

Leeds also had a North Macedonian on the books recently in fan favourite Ezgjan Alioski, who they signed from Swiss club Lugano.

The left-sided player is now back at Lugano after his Elland Road exit saw a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli and a loan spell with Fenerbahce.

With a huge 91 caps for North Macedonia at international level, Alioski could well be an inspiration for Hodja.

Hodja is likely to be slotted into the Under-21s, meaning he should see Premier League 2 action this season.