Leeds United enjoyed a wonderful season last term when they raced to a staggering 100 points to win the Championship title under Daniel Farke.
The Whites earned promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking with the German head coach, having lost to Southampton in the play-off final in 2024.
It is now up to the former Norwich City boss to show that he can keep the team in the top-flight, though, as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Marcelo Bielsa.
The West Yorkshire outfit finished ninth in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign, their highest finish in the football pyramid in the last 20 years, and Farke knows that he needs more attacking options to repeat that feat, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin one player who is set to arrive on a free transfer.
Leeds needs to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch to ensure that they have enough firepower to avoid relegation, and potentially push for the top-half like they did in Bielsa’s first season in the league.
In the summer of 2020, Victor Orta made sure that the Argentine boss had the quality he needed by signing brilliant Brazilian forward Raphinha.
Leeds hit the jackpot with Raphinha
There is an argument to be made that the left-footed star is the best signing that the Whites have made in modern history, or at least since 2020, as his quality on the pitch was pivotal to their success.
Leeds reportedly paid an initial fee of £17m to sign the winger from Rennes in 2020, and it is fair to say that he more than paid back that fee with the value he provided on the pitch.
Raphinha scored 17 goals and created 22 ‘big chances’, per Sofascore, in two seasons in the Premier League during his time with Leeds, in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns, helping them to avoid the drop both times.
The mercurial attacker made a huge impact at the top end of the pitch to win vital points for the team to ensure that they did not get relegated, with goals and assists to secure draws and wins.
Appearances
30
35
Goals
6
11
Big chances missed
4
6
Big chances created
12
10
Key passes per game
2.1
1.9
Assists
9
3
Dribbles completed per game
1.9
1.8
As you can see in the table above, Raphinha provided a consistent threat in possession with his goals, assists, dribbles, and key passes in the top-flight.
Barcelona then swooped to sign the winger for a fee of £55m in the summer of 2022, and Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in the following season. This speaks to how important he was to the side, and why the Whites have not had a signing as successful as him since.
Leeds are likely destination for experienced centre-forward
The West Yorkshire outfit may have a chance to land their best signing since Raphinha, though, as a fresh report has emerged on their interest in a new striker.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
According to Qatari paper Al Kass, as relayed by Globo, Leeds United are the most likely destination for Al Hilal centre-forward Aleksandar Mitrovic this summer.
The report claims that the Saudi Pro League team are willing to pay the striker the £21m they owe him for the last three years of his contract in order to allow him to find a new club.
It states that the recent arrival of Darwin Nunez from Liverpool has left Mitrovic as a disposable member of Simone Inzaghi’s squad, opening the door for Leeds to make a move for him.
The outlet is not clear on whether Al Hilal would still demand a transfer fee for the Serbia international, paying up his contract to allow him to negotiate lower wages elsewhere, or if he will be available for nothing, as it had been reported earlier this summer that they wanted a fee of £26m for his services.
Why Mitrovic would be the best signing since Raphinha
As aforementioned, Raphinha was such a successful signing for the Whites because it was his attacking quality in the final third that won vital points for the team with goals and assists to help the team avoid relegation.
You only have to look at what happened after he moved on from Elland Road to understand how important the winger was for the team, and Mitrovic is a player who has the potential to be just as impactful for Leeds.
The Al Hilal marksman, who was described as an “absolute monster” by Saudi Arabian news journalist Matt Monaghan, has the goalscoring pedigree to come in and be the main man at the top end of the pitch for Farke, scoring enough goals to fire the team to safety.
Mitrovic, who once scored a staggering 43 goals in one season for Fulham during his time in England, has enjoyed a sensational time in front of goal with Al Hilal, who may only be replacing him because of his age, as Nunez is four years younger than him.
Sports editor Henry Hill once described the 30-year-old centre-forward as a “prolific” player for club and country, and his statistics back that claim up.
Appearances
28
23
xG
26.60
17.41
Goals
28
19
xG on target
26.26
22.12
xA
2.48
1.33
Assists
5
2
As you can see in the table above, Mitrovic found it almost too easy to score goals in the Pro League for Al Hilal, outperforming his xG in both of those seasons and almost averaging a goal every game.
Along with his phenomenal output in Saudi Arabia, the Leeds transfer target has also scored 62 goals in 100 matches for Serbia at international level, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he is a prolific scorer for club and country, as claimed.
These statistics show that the Serbian star, who scored 111 goals in 206 games for Fulham, has the ability to be a consistent and prolific goalscorer for Leeds, having proven himself in England, in Saudi Arabia, and at international level.
This means that Mitrovic could win vital points for Leeds on a regular basis by scoring goals that earn draws and wins to keep Leeds in the Premier League, much like Raphinha did in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns.
Way better than Calvert-Lewin: £50m star is the top target for Leeds
Leeds United’s number one transfer target is a way better option than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
2 ByDan Emery
That is why the Al Hilal forward would be the club’s best signing since Raphinha, because they have yet to bring in an attacker with the quality to make as big of an impact as the Brazilian did during his time at Elland Road.
