Who is Fran Sol, the Spanish striker who has been linked with a move to Leeds United?

Leeds United are reported to be among a number of English clubs, plus a pair of Scottish clubs, are reportedly interested in landing the signature of Fran Sol, a 26 year-old striker who is currently playing at Willem II in the Netherlands.

He’s got an impressive goal scoring record in the Netherlands, but just who is Sol?

Sol has scored an extremely impressive 16 times in 19 appearances for Willem II this season, after scoring 20 times in 37 appearances last season. In all, he’s made 87 appearances in all competitions for William II, scoring 46 times.

Before coming to the Netherlands, Sol bounced around the lower divisions of Spain after spending time in the youth systems of Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano. He was in the Real Madrid U17 and U19 teams getting to Real Madrid C, where he was loaned to CD Lugo and Real Oviedo.

It seems the loan moves weren’t especially productive for Sol, as he only scored one goal for CD Lugo in the Segunda Divisíon in Spain in 12 appearances, mainly as a substitute. After going back to Real Madrid C, he was then loaned to Real Oviedo, who were in the third division of Spanish football at the time, where he appeared only twice.

After another year in the Real Madrid system, he signed with Villarreal, and played two seasons for Villarreal B, scoring 27 goals in 73 appearances in the third division in Spain. He signed on a free transfer for Willem II in the summer of 2016, and he’s been impressing ever since.

Leeds, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Derby County, Fulham, Celtic FC, and Rangers FC have all been linked with a move for the striker in the press recently, but would this move make sense?

Sol has got an impressive record in the Netherlands, but he wasn’t impressive enough to land permanent deals in Spain, and didn’t even crack the lineup of Real Madrid Castilla, the “B” team for Madrid who play in the third division in Spain. And while he’s racked up the goals in Netherlands, his goal scoring record in the lower levels of Spain doesn’t really appear very impressive. He could be a late bloomer, and maybe a move abroad is what the player needed to kick-start his career, but it should still give pause to some of the hype.

The sheer number of clubs “linked” with a move for Sol do make it sound like an agent is trying to get a good deal for his (or her) client, as Sol is out of contract in the summer. So could he make a switch to Elland Road? Perhaps, but don’t hold your breath. Leeds already have Kemar Roofe, Patrick Bamford, and Tyler Roberts up front, so this move doesn’t make a ton of sense.