Leeds United are considering a January move to sign Burnley striker Matej Vydra, according to the Mirror via HITC.
Vydra has rarely featured for the Clarets this season, with manager Sean Dyche only turning to the Czech Republic international as a late substitute in four Premier League games ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures.
The 27-year-old was given a rare start in the Carabao Cup in August when Burnley were beaten 3-1 at home to League One side Sunderland, in a clash where Vydra bettered his total minutes haul from between Premier League matchday 12 to the final day of last season.
Such few minutes of top-flight action last term sparked Vydra to hand in a transfer request this summer as he strived to find more regular game time, and attracted interest from a number of clubs both at home and abroad.
We were said to have been among the sides interested in signing Vydra this summer, having also been heavily linked with his services before he joined Burnley from Derby County in 2018 for a reported £11million.
Marcelo Bielsa is now claimed to have requested that the board secure Vydra’s signature in January, as the boss is keen to add a natural goalscorer to his ranks in a bid to avoid further exasperating defeats or irksome draws.
United chiefs are now mulling over a winter pursuit of the 2017/18 Championship Golden Boot winner – who hit 21 goals in 40 games for the Rams before his move to Turf Moor – and could face paying £7.5m.
Should we sign Vydra for £7.5m?
Yes, we need another ST
No, he isn't good enough
Vydra arriving at Elland Road could well be the missing piece of Bielsa’s promotion-chasing puzzle, though, as the £35,000-per-week striker has that prolific record in the second-tier.
As well as his Golden Boot season at Pride Park, he hit 36 goals in 83 games with Watford, where he offered a creative option, too, with a combined 14 assists.
Patrick Bamford’s struggles have made it imperative that another forward arrives in the winter that can instantly challenge the 26-year-old for a starting role, given the boss’ opposition to trusting Eddie Nketiah due to the Arsenal loanee coming from a different style of play.
No United player is averaging more shots on goal per 90 minutes in the Championship than Bamford, with the former Middlesbrough man taking 3.1 on average ahead of this weekend’s trip to Luton Town.
But only 1.0 of Bamford’s 3.1 shots manage to find the target, and just 10% of his total 50 efforts resulted in goals.