Leeds United need to improve their offensive output if they want to stand a chance of avoiding an instant relegation from the Premier League this season.
Last season, every team that avoided the drop scored at least 42 goals, with Spurs in 17th place scoring 64 times, whilst all three of the teams that went down averaged less than a goal per game.
The Whites are currently in the middle of that, with 11 goals in 11 matches in the Premier League, which shows that they need to improve their output at the top end of the pitch.
11 games into the season, no Leeds player has scored more than two goals in the division, with three players leading the way for goals, and that needs to change in the coming weeks.
25/26
Noah Okafor
Joe Rodon
Lukas Nmecha
2
22/23
Rodrigo
13
21/22
Raphinha
11
20/21
Patrick Bamford
17
As you can see in the table above, at least one player hit double figures for goals in each of the three seasons that the club were in the Premier League during their last stint.
In their run in the division before that, Australian forward Mark Viduka hit double figures in four successive seasons, including 17 and 20-goal hauls in two of them, per Transfermarkt.
Why Leeds need to sign a new centre-forward
Leeds need to sign a new centre-forward to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch in the January transfer window because none of their current options look likely to be their next Viduka.
As aforementioned, no one in the squad has scored more than two goals in the Premier League after 11 matches, and summer signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a particular disappointment so far this term.
The experienced number nine, who was signed on a free transfer from Everton in the summer, is reportedly the highest earner in the squad on £100k-per-week, but has not done enough on the pitch to justify that.
25/26
1.62
1
24/25
8.85
3
23/24
13.63
7
22/23
6.50
2
21/22
6.22
5
20/21
18.21
16
19/20
16.11
13
18/19
6.17
6
17/18
5.44
4
16/17
1.25
1
As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin has historically been a poor finisher in the Premier League, mostly for Everton, and arrived at Elland Road in the summer off the back of four successive seasons without scoring more than seven goals in a league campaign.
It should, therefore, not be a surprise that he has struggled for form for the Whites in front of goal, with one goal and ten ‘big chances’ missed in all competitions so far this season, per Sofascore.
Nmecha, meanwhile, has scored two Premier League goals this season, but has not scored more than eight goals in a league season, per Sofascore, since he plundered 18 goals in the Pro League for Anderlecht in the 2020/21 campaign.
Leeds plotting move for new striker
The unlikelihood of Calvert-Lewin or Nmecha pushing on to hit double figures for goals in the Premier League has reportedly prompted the club to pursue another option in their position.
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According to TEAMtalk, the club recognise that they let Daniel Farke down in the summer transfer window and plan to rectify that mistake by adding more firepower to his squad in January.
The report claims that Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda is one of the players they are plotting a possible move for, alongside Coventry’s Haji Wright, AZ Alkmaar’s Troy Parrott, and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Garcia.
It adds that the Scottish Premiership forward has told the Hoops of his desire to move on from Parkhead in the next transfer window, which will come as a boost to Leeds, as well as Everton and Brentford, who are said to be leading the race for his signature.
Maeda was reportedly valued at around £21m by Celtic in the summer, amid interest in his services at the time, but it remains to be seen if that valuation has changed ahead of January.
Why Daizen Maeda could be Leeds United's new Mark Viduka
As aforementioned, Viduka had great success in the Premier League during his time at Elland Road, with 72 goals in 166 matches in all competitions for the club, per Transfermarkt.
That impressive form for the Whites came after he made a move from Celtic, where, per Transfermarkt, he scored an eye-catching 27 goals in 37 games in the 99/00 season, before his switch to West Yorkshire in the summer of 2000.
Maeda, who is currently shining for Celtic, could follow in Viduka’s footsteps by making a similar move to be a goalscoring sensation for Leeds in the second half of this season, and beyond.
The Japanese forward, who can play on either wing or as a number nine, scored 33 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, per Transfermarkt, and has scored four goals so far this term.
These statistics show that Maeda has been an incredibly prolific goalscorer for the Scottish giants, which is exactly what Leeds are lacking in their current squad.
xG
12.76
Top 1%
Goals
16
Top 1%
xA
5.99
Top 6%
Assists
10
Top 1%
Duels won
104
Top 23%
Tackles won
44
Top 6%
Possession won in the final third
13
Top 16%
Perhaps most interestingly, though, the Japan international ranked within the top 16% of his positional peers in the Premiership last season for winning possession back in the final third, despite Celtic being an incredibly dominant team who won the title.
At Leeds, Maeda would be in a team that is under pressure a lot in matches, as they are fighting relegation, which would give him even more opportunities to use his incredible pressing skills and speed to win the ball off the opposition to spark counter-attacks.
The Celtic star, who ex-Rangers boss Barry Ferguson claimed is “built like a brick”, could be the perfect signing for Leeds because he has the goalscoring record to suggest that he can provide the threat that they are currently missing, whilst also possessing the out-of-possession attributes that you need a player to have in a relegation scrap.
Maeda’s relentless running and pressing could be invaluable to the Whites as they battle to avoid the drop, and his goalscoring quality could make him Viduka 2.0 at Elland Road.
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