OPINION
Leeds United must take advantage of Tammy Abraham’s imminent move to Wolves to make a big push to sign Leo Bonatini.
The striker could be a huge asset in Marcelo Bielsa’s push for automatic promotion, especially given the doubts over the fitness of Patrick Bamford following his recent break down.
The encouraging thing for Leeds is that Bonatini is seemingly available for a loan move for the rest of the season, and the time is perfect for the Yorkshire giants to strike.
Football Insider report Nuno Espirito Santo has given the green light Bonatini to follow Kortney Hause, who joined Aston Villa on Monday night, through the exit door “so that they can valuable first-team action under their belts as they are unlikely to break into his side” for the rest of the campaign.
Certainly, the all-but-done deal for Abraham, who scored 16 goals at Villa in the opening half of the season, means Bonatini’s chances will be severely limited over the coming months at his parent club.
Sky Sports News’ latest update on Abraham is that Wolves are hoping to tie up the signing of the front man on loan “in the next few days” and unveil him against Manchester City in next Monday’s Premier League showdown.
The writing is on the wall for Bonatini, who failed to make the sub’s bench for Wolves last night in their FA Cup win against Liverpool even though Nuno made five changes to his starting XI.
Leeds can seize the moment by negotiating a loan swoop for Bonatini, who tore defences to shreds in the Championship in the first half of last season.
He can do the same again in a white shirt if given the opportunity, and take some of the goalscoring burden off Kemar Roofe at the same time.