Highlights
- Leeds are set to address their midfield weakness with some last-minute transfer business.
- The arrivals of Kamara and Gruev would signal a serious show of ambition from the 49ers.
- Phil Hay and Fabrizio Romano have each dropped updates on the respective deals.
When looking at Leeds United’s squad, the glaring weakness that stands out comes in midfield, with 17-year-old Archie Gray thrown in the deep end at Elland Road, asked to swim in order to help the Yorkshire club from sinking any further.
That’s not to say the teenager hasn’t stepped up well, either, but eventually, given his age, Gray will likely burn out under the pressure and game-time. Daniel Farke still has time to progress past that problem, however, and looks set to do just that.
According to reports, the Yorkshire club are about to welcome not one, but two midfield reinforcements before the transfer window slams shut.
What’s the latest Leeds United transfer news?
Looking at the positives, so far Leeds have at least kept hold of Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra, though there’s still time for that to change. Meanwhile, welcoming Joel Piroe, who scored 20 goals for Swansea City in all competitions last season, should hand them some much-needed firepower towards potential promotion from the Championship.
All that leaves is their midfield problem to solve. And that’s where both Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev could come in.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Kamara is set to undergo a medical at Leeds ahead of his summer switch from Rangers. Meanwhile, as per Phil Hay of The Athletic, Gruev, like Kamara, is all booked in for a medical ahead of joining the club from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.
Suddenly, despite losing Tyler Adams to Bournemouth this summer, Farke looks set to have a solid foundation of options to call upon in the middle of the park.
The extra arrivals take the pressure away from Gray, too, who can now enjoy his development into a first-team player at Elland Road, instead of being forced to become the main man in midfield so early in his career.
How good are Kamara and Gruev?
Both Kamara and Gruev represent solid pieces of business for Leeds – it could be argued that both players are upgrades on Adams, too.
According to FBref, Gruev, in particular, outperformed Adams in several aspects last season, making more progressive carries per 90 and losing the ball less than the American.
Meanwhile, Kamara is a player whose praise speaks for itself, with former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard once saying, via Sky Sports: “He gave you all an indication of what he can do on Wednesday. I obviously knew the player and what you saw against Kilmarnock is why we wanted to bring him in this summer. Thankfully we’ve been able to bring him in early.
“He was a class act the other night, I thought he was superb from start to finish. Without Alfredo’s goals he would certainly have been man of the match.
“It was nice to see midfielders taking the ball off the guys at the back and making us tick. Glen connected the game really well.”
With that said, it looks as though Leeds are finally set to solve their midfield problem, handing them the opportunity to kick on and potentially secure instant promotion back to the Premier League.