Journalist Ben Jacobs expects Leeds United to make a summer move for a “fantastic” striker, who would be “keen” on a move to Elland Road.
Leeds’ promotion hopes were significantly boosted with a 3-1 victory against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane last night, with Junior Firpo, Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe striking late to complete a second-half turnaround against their Yorkshire rivals.
The Whites now sit seven points clear of third-place Burnley as we enter the business end of the season, having hit a rich vein of form at the right time, winning their last five games on the spin in the Championship.
There is still a long way to go, but Daniel Farke‘s side are in a strong position to return to the Premier League at the second time of asking, and they have now started to identify potential targets for the summer transfer window.
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He’s been in encouraging form and Leeds Utd have taken notice.
Manor Solomon has played a key role in Leeds’ promotion push, and it has recently been revealed the Tottenham Hotspur man is set to be available for a fee of around £10m – £15m at the end of the season.
Solomon is not the only attacking target the Championship promotion-hopefuls have in mind, however, with Jacobs recently telling GiveMeSport he expects them to make a fresh move for Southampton’s Cameron Archer, who they wanted in January.
“My expectation is, with Southampton likely to go down and Leeds on track to come up, that Leeds will revisit the Cameron Archer deal, and over the course of a long summer, potentially make more progress there.
“Archer is keen on the move. Leeds value the fact that he can play centrally or out wide. And Archer will remain on Leeds’ shortlist heading into the summer.”
Archer was Leeds’ top striker target in January
Jacobs also revealed Archer was Leeds’ “number one target” at striker last month, having displayed a keen eye for goal in the Championship in the past, bagging 11 goals and six assists in 20 games for Middlesbrough in the 2022-23 campaign.
The former Boro man has also received praise from ex-Solihull Moors coach James Quinn, who said: “He came in and straightaway I was taken aback by his technical quality. A fantastic finisher with both feet. One of the best I’ve seen.”
That said, the 23-year-old has struggled since making the step-up to the Premier League this season, joining Southampton last summer in a £15m deal.
Since arriving at St. Mary’s, the striker has scored just two Premier League goals in 23 outings, failing to find the back of the net since October.
Of course, it is a tough ask to regularly score goals while playing in such a poor side, but there should be some concern about Archer’s Premier League goal record, given that Leeds will most likely be returning to the top tier next season.
