Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has specifically asked the club to sign Stuttgart striker Nicolas Gonzalez during the summer transfer window, a report from Tuttomercatoweb has claimed.
Gonzalez scored 14 goals in 27 league appearances this season to help Stuttgart win promotion back to the Bundesliga at the first time of asking.
Now it seems as though Gonzalez’ efforts over the course of the 2019/20 campaign have earned him a fair deal of attention from elsewhere, with Leeds said to be interested in the striker.
Indeed, it seems that Whites boss Bielsa is particularly keen to see his fellow Argentine at Elland Road next season, with the latest reports claiming that Bielsa has specifically asked the club to sign Gonzalez ahead of the club’s return to the Premier League next season.
That however, may not be easy for Leeds to do, thanks to a reported £18million release clause in the striker’s contract that means he will not be cheap to buy.
There is also the issue of interest in Gonzalez from other parts of Europe, with Italian trio AC Milan, Napoli and Atalanta all also said to be keen to sign the 22-year-old.
Even so, you imagine Leeds will be putting up quite a fight in their attempts to sign Gonzalez over the course of the next few weeks.
It does seem as though they need at least one more goalscorer in their side to provide support for Patrick Bamford, and Gonzalez’ record last season suggests he could do that.
Even more importantly than that however, is the fact that Leeds will be desperate to back Bielsa, and show him that they can give him the support he needs to succeed in the Premier League at Elland Road, meaning this in particular could be a crucial transfer pursuit for Leeds over the course of this summer.