Leeds United could be set to sign a new defender in January, and a fresh report has revealed that it would cost the club nothing to bring him to Elland Road.
Where are Leeds in the Championship table?
In the Championship this season, Daniel Farke’s side have won five, drawn four and lost just two of their opening 11 games, meaning that they currently find themselves fifth in the league table. Here is how that first group of matches has played out so far:
Ipswich Town (4-3)
Cardiff City (2-2)
Birmingham City (1-0)
Millwall (3-0)
West Brom (1-1)
Southampton (3-1)
Watford (3-0)
Sheffield Wednesday (0-0)
QPR (1-0)
Hull City (0-0)
Bristol City (2-1)
The Whites have 17 squad members across all age levels away on international duty at this moment in time, including the likes of Liam Cooper with Scotland, Glen Kamara with Finland and the trio of Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Dan James with Wales (Yorkshire Evening Post), and the break from domestic action has allowed chiefs to start assessing their options ahead of the upcoming window.
In West Yorkshire, Philadelphia Union’s left-back Kai Wagner has been highlighted as a potential candidate, but it’s not the first time that he’s been linked with a move to the club, having attracted interest from the hierarchy at the start of the year, when a deal failed to come to fruition before the deadline.
The German, however, will be out of contract at the end of December, meaning that he will become a free agent on the market (Philadelphia Union contracts), and having established himself as Jim Curtin’s best-performing player so far this season with a match rating of 7.34 (as per WhoScored – Philadelphia Union statistics), the 26-year-old won’t be short of a potential suitor in England.
Kai Wagner transfer update
According to The Athletic (via CaughtOffside), which shared a transfer update on Kai Wagner, Philadelphia's defender “could be heading” to Leeds in January.
The Whites target is “set to leave” his side upon the expiration of his deal at the end of the calendar year, and Elland Road has been touted as a serious potential destination.
How good is Kai Wagner?
According to his former teammate Aurelien Collin, Wagner is a “fighter” for his desire to get stuck in – something he’s shown by winning 39 out of his 60 tackles made so far this season, which is a higher rate than any of his teammates (FBref – Philadelphia Union statistics), but he’s also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch.
The Geislingen native, who is naturally left-footed, has racked up 50 goal involvements (42 assists and eight goals) since the start of his career, so he has a history of making runs down the wing and creating chances for himself and his teammates in the final third (Transfermarkt – Wagner statistics).
Finally, Wagner shares the same agent, Feel Soccer GMBH, as Ilia Gruev, so this existing connection that his representative has to the club could give the 49ers a small advantage should they indeed decide to make yet another attempt for their long-term target in January.
