Leeds United have tonight confirmed that they have signed striker Souleymane Doukara on a season-long loan deal from Italian side Catania.

Doukara has failed to impress at Elland Road

The Frenchman, 22, is yet to score a goal for his parent club but scored six goals in 20 games during a loan spell with Juve Stabia, who were relegated from Serie B last season.

His arrival is the beginning of a rebuilding process at Elland Road after the Yorkshire club sold their top goalscorer from last season, Ross McCormack, to Fulham last week for a fee believed to be in the region of £11m.

Leeds have the option of signing Doukara on a permanent basis at the end of the loan should he impress sufficiently.

Whilst the arrival of a relatively unknown and unproven striker may not be the marquee signing to appease the fans, it is thought to be the next in a long line of transfers to LS11 funded by the club's new owner, Massimo Cellino.

Despite his powerful attributes, it does not seem that the signing of Doukara is to set the wheels in motion for fellow striker Matt Smith to leave Leeds and join SkyBet Championship rivals Millwall, who have expressed interest in the robust frontman and already had a bid turned down.