OPINION
At the end of the January transfer window, which ended in farce as the move for Daniel James broke down, Leeds were adamant that the Swansea winger was the club’s only attacking target.
However, clubs are known to be economical with the truth around these matters and a couple of reports have surfaced that point to the fact that Leeds were trying for another, perhaps more ambitious target.
The first from Spanish outlet ElDesmarque, claimed that Leeds bid “until the last minute” of the window for 25-year-old PSG striker Jesé Rodriguez.
They were looking for a loan for the player, on a reported £80,000-a-week, who has had a nightmare in France, but the report claims that the player didn’t think a short stay in England was the best move for him and went to Real Betis instead.
However, that might not be the end of it. It was also reported that Leeds scouts were at the recent Real Betis game, where Jesé came off the bench to assist the equaliser in a 3-3 draw.
Jesé has only started one game for Real Betis and Leeds could well be keeping a close eye on him with a view to a move for the 25-year-old in the summer. Jesé himself would surely be much more interested in a permanent move to a Premier League side.
Leeds fans might not be happy with that. After all, Jesé had a torrid time of it in the Premier League with Stoke, making just 13 appearances on his loan move from PSG, scoring just the once.
However, a line often repeated by Leeds fans this season has been “In Bielsa we trust”. Victor Orta won’t be looking at players that Bielsa isn’t interested in – that’s not how things work at Elland Road – and the Leeds manager doesn’t make many missteps.
Jesé was a £22.5million player when Real Madrid sold him to PSG in 2016. Things have gone wrong for the player since but if Bielsa can transform the striker, Leeds could hit the jackpot with Jesé sure to be available for a cut-price fee in the summer. He might have to take a wage cut to move to Elland Road but PSG will be keen to offload him and something could be worked out.
Betis have an option to buy which makes the Leeds move more improbable but there’s no guarantee that Jesé will succeed out there.
If he doesn’t, he could be available for a bargain fee that could offset the wages, and if Bielsa thinks he can transform the player, Leeds should definitely take a punt on him. He’s young, he had a terrific record with Real Madrid and he’s got every motivation to let Bielsa help him prove the world wrong.