This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Leeds United are reportedly one of a number of Premier League clubs to have watched Barnsley forward Daryl Dike closely.
The 20-year-old joined on loan from MLS side Orlando City in January and has made a fast start to life in the Championship – scoring five times in 11 appearances.
According to TEAMtalk, host of Premier League clubs, including the Whites, have been keeping tabs on him.
So, would he be a good signing for Leeds? And is he needed?
We asked our FLW writers for their thoughts...
Alfie Burns
Leeds could probably do with lifting the pressure off Patrick Bamford heading into 2021/22, with a new striker coming into the club probably the only way you can properly do that.
If that’s the case, a player of Dike’s ilk would be good.
He’s young, got room to develop and also enough about him now to make an instant impact in the Premier League, albeit as a squad player.
The issue I’ve got with Leeds chasing the deal is that it would probably cost somewhere in the region of £20m.
That’s a large part of the budget at Elland Road on a player that plays in a position that’s already occupied by the brilliant Patrick Bamford.
Can Leeds afford to do that without strengthening elsewhere? I’m not so sure.
Toby Wilding
I could certainly see this being a good signing for Leeds if they can pull it off.
Looking at their squad right now, they are short of alternative centre forward options to Patrick Bamford upfront, which could leave them with something of a problem if he was to pick up a long-term absence for any reason.
The addition of another center-forward such as Dike, would go some way to easing that concern, particularly given the first impression he has made in England has been a hugely encouraging one.
Indeed, the level of interest there is in the Barnsley loanee certainly suggests there is a strong confidence he could make an impact in the Premier League, meaning this could be a rather useful coup for Leeds, if they are able to win this particular transfer battle.
Ben Wignall
This is a tough one because Patrick Bamford has been in red-hot form this season and Leeds also spent the best part of £30 million on Rodrigo last summer to compete with him.
So can the club really make a case for spending another eight-figure fee on a striker when Marcelo Bielsa tends to just play with a one-striker formation?
Whilst Dike is quite clearly a brilliant striker at such a young age and a Premier League move for him next season is almost a given at this point, I'm not convinced Leeds would be the best fit for him.
Should Bielsa switch to a two-striker system then sure, Dike would be the perfect foil for Bamford, but as a neutral there are definitely other clubs interested in the American that I could see him being a better fit for.