Danny Mills has said that Leeds United’s priority in the summer transfer window should be a striker if they are to secure automatic promotion next season.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side missed out on a return to the Premier League this season after being dumped out of the play-offs by Derby County at Elland Road.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast [Monday, 8:10am], Mills said that the Whites need “two or three top signings” to round off a good window.
“They need a centre-back and they need that striker that will score you 25 goals a season and get you out of the Championship, that’s the biggest problem,” the 42-year-old said.
“[Kemar] Roofe has been excellent and has almost played out of position this season but 14, 15 goals is not really enough to catapult you to those one and two spots and get you that automatic promotion.
“So if [Marcelo Bielsa] is going to stay, he needs to bring in two or three top signings to have a real good go again next season.”
OPINION
A new striker is exactly what Leeds need this summer. Roofe scored 14 goals in the Championship last season, 15 if you count the winner against Derby in the play-off first leg at Pride Park. As well as that, Patrick Bamford – who was signed from Middlesbrough last summer – has only managed 10 goals in all competitions, nine in the Championship. Combined, that amounts to 24 goals in the league between the duo. But if you look at Sheffield United’s attackers this season, you can see why the Whites are crying out for a new striker. Billy Sharp scored 23 Championship goals on his own, while David McGoldrick added 15. What’s more, Norwich marksman Teemu Pukki, who was the league’s top scorer with 29 goals, fired the club to a first-placed finish. If Leeds sign a top-class striker this summer, they will have a real chance of going up next season, as Mills points out. But until then, their strike force will not be enough.