Leeds United should be among Premier League suitors for £51m El Khannouss | OneFootball

James Trafford is set to become Leeds United’s third summer signing, but Daniel Farke wants further reinforcements after missing out on Julian Brandt to Ajax and with Gabi Gudmundsson’s hamstring injury heightening the need for a left-back before Forest on the 22nd.

The Trafford deal is dragging while the Manchester City goalkeeper is on holiday. According to Sky Germany, Stuttgart playmaker Bilal El Khannouss is open to a move, with two unnamed Premier League clubs making initial enquiries and a price understood to be around £51m, up to €60m with bonuses, even though Stuttgart would prefer to keep him.

Leeds pursued El Khannouss last summer from Leicester, holding talks and making a bid, but did not land him or any attacking midfielder. He joined Stuttgart and produced 16 goal involvements in 42 appearances in his first season.

Farke still wants an attacker who can operate wide, as a 10 or off the striker in a 3-5-2 or his 4-2-3-1. El Khannouss offers that profile and, given previous interest, Leeds should be among the clubs exploring the opportunity.

Other priorities remain, including another goalkeeper after Trafford, left-back cover for Gudmundsson and a striker to bridge the quality gap between Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha.

Whether Leeds can commit around £50m is unclear. It may require sales of fringe players to create room, but El Khannouss would be a standout addition this month.

Source: Leedsunited.news

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”