Will Stuttgart’s Alexandru Maxim join Leeds United?

Throughout the 2016/17 season, Leeds were linked with Romanian International Alexandru Maxim. And even though the club is going through a regime change at the moment, that reportedly has not stopped the clubs interest in the attacker.

Maxim hones his craft for German side VFB Stuttgart. Die Schwaben are a club with an extensive winning history, but recent times have not been kind to the club. After years of battling it, Stuttgart was finally relegated from the Bundesliga to the 2. Bundesliga in 2016. Last season was the first season the club played in lower level competition since 1976/77.

However, Stuttgart proved that they deserved to be a team in the top flight of German football, as they were last season's champions of the 2. Bundesliga.

Maxim has been on Leeds United's radar for quite a while. Ex-boss Garry Monk was keen on bringing him in during the January transfer window, but couldn't reach an agreement. Romanian outlet Digi Sport claim that Maxim is looking for a fresh challenge and an agreement is very close to being reached for the player.

Maxim was once a player who was targeted by top European clubs but never really developed into that sort of player. At 26 years old, we may never see the "world beater" version scouts once saw of him, but he's still young enough to be able to develop into something special. A true no. 10, Maxim can play the attacking mid role but can also be used wide as a winger. His mind is dialed in to play attacking football, be it taking on defenders, holding the ball up for his teammates to get in a good position for a cross, or even just swinging the ball in for the target man to do his magic. He's a pretty good set-piece taker too and has all the traits that could see him viewed as the heir apparent to Pablo Hernandez. He's also played for Romania 27 times, bagging two goals in the process.

It's still silly season, especially with Leeds United still not appointing a manager, so a lot of rumors are just going to be chatter from media guys. With this Maxim rumor, it's either "Maxim does not want to play Championship football" or "it's about to happen", depending on what you read. Fans have already taken over Maxim's Wikipedia page, as it says he already plays for Leeds. Maxim would be the second signing of the summer should he join, with Hadi Sacko being the first. How do you feel about Alex Maxim? Let us know in the comments. MOT