After hearing the awful news that Chris Wood might be headed to Burnley, we at Throught It All Together started putting together a list of strikers that could replace Chris Wood at Leeds United.
Right now, besides Chris Wood, the club only has Caleb Ekuban and Souleymane Doukara as recognized strikers, although Kemar Roofe has played as a striker in League Two for Oxford United.
We hope this list isn’t needed.
Leonardo Ulloa
Leicester City
While the Argentine has been largely surplus to requirements for Leicester City in the past two seasons of the Premier League, he has a fantastic goal scoring record in the Championship, scoring 23 goals in 50 appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion. He’s not a young man anymore, but he can still find the goal and would be a brilliant addition to the team. Not a long-term solution, but could be a good player to come in and do a job and get the goals to replace Wood.
Jordan Hugill
Preston North End
Hugill isn’t necessarily the biggest name in the potential rumor mill, but he’s a quality Championship level striker. He scored 13 goals for Preston last season, and looked decent against Leeds last week in a scoreless draw. He was a rumored target of a few different clubs in the summer, and Preston could be tempted to sell him on if Leeds wave enough cash at them. He’s likely be available for less than £3 million, so Leeds could buy him and another striker or get another central defender with the left-over money.
Raúl de Tomás
Real Madrid (on loan at Real Valladolid last season)
This one is a stretch, but given the number of players that have come from Spain under the current leadership at Leeds United, it’s as big a stretch as you would think. Orta and Bravo both have ties to Spain and they have been heavily scouting the under 23 players at both Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as other teams in Spain. Raúl de Tomás scored 14 goals on loan at Real Valladolid last season, and with the number of first team options at Real Madrid currently, he’s not breaking into the first team anytime soon. He’s still only 22, and while he would likely only be available on loan, if he flourishes at Leeds, Orta could try to make the move permanent.
Leigh Griffiths
Celtic FC
He’s been mentioned as a possible target before in the summer, and while Celtic aren’t necessarily in a place where they need to sell anyone, they could be tempted to cash in on Griffiths. He certainly has blossomed north of the border, but could he be tempted to join a Championship club after playing in the Champions League? He’s not a carbon copy of Wood by any means, but he can score tons of goals. A longer shot than most of the links, but it’s still possible.
Sergi Enrich
SD Eibar
Okay, this one might be a little nuts, but bear with me.
Sergi Enrich apparently is available from SD Eibar, and while he’s been linked to a number of clubs in Europe, like Marseille in France, Leeds would have the money to sign a player like him after selling Chris Wood, and we know that Eibar isn’t able to compete with Leeds in terms of wages after the Samu Saíz transfer saga.
Yes, this one is a long shot and a bit mad, but the club has been bringing in a number of Spanish players and Enrich bounced around Spain at a number of clubs before ending up at SD Eibar in 2015. He really could be on the move, and maybe Leeds could nick a deal at the last minute, just as they did to land Saíz. The only draw back would be that Enrich isn’t necessarily the kind of player that can play as a single striker, but he can score goals and without Wood, Leeds might change their attacking style anyway.
Could one of these targets fill the bill for Leeds? Maybe. If the Wood report is true, the club will be flush with a few million quid and looking to spend it on a striker or two. Honestly, while I would like to see the team swing for the fence and grab a player like Enrich or Griffiths, Leeds could do a lot worse than a player like Ulloa or Hugill. Leeds needs to bring someone in, though, because Doukara and Ekuban aren’t gonna cut it if the team wants to get promoted this year.