Leeds United are “definitely still keen” on Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga and are in ongoing talks, according to a reliable journalist.
Lee Sobot, a journalist with the Yorkshire Evening Post, released the news on his personal Twitter page on Monday morning.
However, there is one big stumbling block – his £50,000-a-week wages – and the striker has other options on the table.
Leeds are definitely still keen on Lasogga and talks are ongoing. But need him to take a big pay-cut and Lasogga has other options too #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) August 28, 2017
They will probably investigate both.
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) August 28, 2017
Wages has always been a stumbling block with Pierre-Michel Lasogga, reported to be on £50,000-a-week at Hamburg. #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) August 28, 2017
Lasogga, 25, moved from Hertha Berlin to Hamburg in the summer of 2014 for a transfer fee close to £8million.
He scored 13 goals in 20 appearances in his first season at Hamburg, but his goals have dropped off since, and he only scored one in 20 appearances last season, although only five of those were starts.
Good move for Leeds?
One goal in 20 appearances in his last season would normally be the stats for a striker that fans wouldn’t want anywhere near their club, but Lasogga is different. He’s a striker who’s been plying his trade in one of Europe’s top divisions and burst onto the Hamburg season with more than one strike every two games. Things have obviously gone wrong for him since then but he would almost certainly be able to produce the goods for Leeds if his attitude was right. That all depends on whether he wants to join the club. Apparently he has other options on the table and it would be important that Leeds were at the top of that list. if not, they should look elsewhere.
This Is Futbol rating: 8/10.
Likely to happen?
Talks have been reportedly going on for a while now so there’s obviously still some legs in this story. It was mentioned that Leeds are “probably” exploring both a loan and a permanent deal, and the former could possibly get around the problem of his wages. Leeds obviously can’t afford £50k-a-week so would either need him to take a big pay cut or have his parent club subsidise his wages. You would think if that was to happen thatHamburg would explore all other options first, which probably puts Leeds at the back of the queue. However, you would have to ask yourself – would a top flight club want Lagossa with his recent goal-scoring record? And surely any other lower tier side would face the same problem as Leeds over his wages? So this one is still a possibility.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10.