OPINION
Noel Whelan hits the nail on the head when he calls on Leeds United director of football Victor Orta to “find the hidden gem” this summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former attacker said that the Whites should go after “bargain basement players” such as Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki.
“Victor Orta is looking for the bargain basement players who can be a gem. They are out there, you just have to find them,” the 44-year-old said.
“It’s obvious, but Leeds need a striker capable of scoring 25 goals. That’s what’s been missing this season. I guarantee you Billy Sharp would have got 25 goals at Leeds this season. He doesn’t miss chances. You need someone who is clinical to put the ball in the back of the net.
“It’s the same with Pukki, I guarantee you he would score 25 goals at Leeds. So would Tammy Abraham. Find the hidden gem. Norwich did the groundwork behind the scenes. Sometimes you have to go above and beyond.”
And Whelan is absolutely bang on with these comments. It is clear and obvious Leeds need another striker for next season, but they must go about it in the right way, not like they did last summer.
While Kemar Roofe scored 15 goals in the Championship last term, new signing Patrick Bamford only managed nine and he failed to live up to expectations in his first season with the Whites.
What Orta and Leeds need to do instead – as Whelan points out – is find the “hidden gem”, the sorts of players who don’t look like they could tear up the Championship, but arrive in the second tier and blow the rest of the teams away with their goals.
Pukki grabbed 29 of them last term – the highest in the Championship – but the most incredible part of the transfer is that he was signed on a free from Danish side Brondby.
In Pukki, you have the exact kind of player who doesn’t appear at first sight to be anything special, but who proves you wrong time and time again.
And that is what Leeds need. Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani has already admitted that it could be a “difficult” summer of spending for the club, and so they are going to have to be shrewd in who they sign.
If they follow Norwich City’s blueprint from last season, however, they will have every chance of finding that one striker who is going to fire them to promotion.