Leeds very keen on signing “fun” £6m “risk-taker”

Leeds United have officially confirmed the signing of centre-back Jaka Bijol from Serie A side Udinese to bolster their defensive options in the coming days.

The Slovenia international has arrived at Elland Road after the club agreed a £19m deal with the Italian outfit to bring him over to England this summer.

Bijol will not be the last defender to walk through doors as a new arrival at Thorp Arch before the end of the summer transfer window, though, as they are also looking to bring in a new left-back.

Junior Firpo’s contract in West Yorkshire is set to expire at the end of this month, which means that the Whites need a first-choice option in that position.

Leeds eyeing deal for Ligue 1 left-back

Leeds, knowing that Firpo is on his way out of the club in the coming weeks, are actively pursuing left-back targets to come in and bolster the squad.

According to LeedsLive, Lille defender Gabriel Gudmundsson is one of the left-backs being eyed up as a target for the Championship champions this summer.

The report claims that they are ‘very’ keen on a swoop for the Sweden international, but that no transfer for the left-footed ace is close at this moment in time.

It adds that Burnley and Everton are also interested in signing the 26-year-old full-back, who has one year left on his deal with Lille, which means that the Whites will have to see off Premier League competition to secure his services.

The outlet does not reveal, however, how much money it would take to sign Gudmundsson, who is valued at around £6m by Transfermarkt, this summer.

Why Leeds should sign Gabriel Gudmundsson

The Whites should push to win the race for his signature ahead of Burnley and Everton because he could arrive at Elland Road as Daniel Farke’s own Ezgjan Alioski.

In Marcelo Bielsa’s first season in the Premier League, the Macedonia international started 29 matches and featured in 36 of the 38 league games, playing mainly as a left-back, but also as a left-midfielder.

Gudmundsson has played 74 times as a left-back and 70 times as a left-midfielder in his career to date, which suggests that he has the versatility to play a similar role in the squad to the one that Alioski did for Bielsa.

The 26-year-old star, who was described as a “fun” player and a “risk-taker” by journalist Joe Donnohue, is a left-back who can provide quality in possession by driving his team up the pitch with passes and dribbles, much like Alioski was for Bielsa.

Stats *per 90	Gudmundsson (24/25 Ligue 1)	Alioski (20/21 Premier League)
Pass accuracy	82%	79%
Progressive passes*	4.59	4.83
Progressive carries*	3.58	2.82
Successful take-ons*	1.01	0.40
Shot-creating actions*	1.51	2.60
Non-penalty goals*	0.10	0.07
Stats via FBref

As you can see in the table above, Gudmundsson offers similar progressive qualities to what the former Whites star offered in his one season in the Premier League at Elland Road.

The Lille star, however, also won 54% of his ground duels and 57% of his aerial duels in Ligue 1, whilst Alioski won 53% of his battles on the deck and 48% of his aerial contests in that top-flight campaign.

This suggests that the Swedish gem could be even more dominant, particularly aerially, than the Macedonia international was for Bielsa in the 2020/21 season, making him a solid option for the team in the Premier League next term.

Therefore, Leeds could land Farke his own version of Alioski, who has the potential to be even better than Bielsa’s dynamic full-back, by signing Gudmundsson this summer, and that is why they must work hard to secure his services.