The summer transfer window will not be officially open to business until next month, but has not stopped Leeds United from being linked to several players prior to the Premier League campaign.
Daniel Fark and his staff will know that, given that the last six teams to advance to the division were all instantly banished, they need to hire them well to give them the opportunity to stay on top flights.
Gabriel Sara, a former Fark team Norwich star, has linked his move to Elland Road to strengthen the club’s options in the middle of the park.
In the middle, the whites are also linked to West Ham United’s interest in Cekia International Thomas Soucek as they are looking for Premier League experience and quality.
On that theme, it was recently reported that Leeds United are leading the race this summer to sign Newcastle United’s experienced centre forward Callum Wilson on a free transfer this summer.
Why should Leeds United sign Callum Wilson?
As mentioned earlier, Leeds may hope to add quality and experience to their team, as mentioned before, to strengthen their chances of returning to the championship next season and avoiding relegation soon.
Wilson made 238 Premier League appearances in his career for the Bournemouth and Newcastle combination. This means that he will arrive at Elland Road with many related experiences prior to the fight to avoid drops.
England International has been further driven out by the Cherries in the 2019/20 campaign and knows what to do in the relegation battle.
If the 49ers sign a contract to sign him from the Magpie, it’s not just experience that Wilson brings to the table.
Callum Wilson’s Premier League career | ||
|---|---|---|
season | start | the goal |
24/25 | 2 | 0 |
23/24 | 9 | 9 |
22/23 | twenty one | 18 |
21/22 | 16 | 8 |
20/21 | twenty three | 12 |
19/20 | 32 | 8 |
18/19 | 29 | 14 |
17/18 | twenty three | 8 |
16/17 | 16 | 6 |
15/16 | 9 | 5 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, the 33-year-old attacker had a difficult season this year due to lack of start due to Alexander Isaac being ahead of him, but he usually scored goals when he started at that level and scored 27 goals in the final 32 starts.
His best season in the Newcastle shirt came in the 2022/23 campaign, where he scored 18 goals from 17.49 XG in 31 appearances and 18 goals in 21 starts on top flights.
This shows Wilson is able to bring both experience and quality to the Leeds team in the Premier League next season. So the 49ers should push their English to advance to Elland Road this summer.
But if the owner can pull away from the free transfer swooping for a clinical Newcastle striker, it could be the end of Patrick Bamford’s career in West Yorkshire.
Why Wilson’s signature is the end of Bamford in Leeds
The 31-year-old striker will definitely finish at Elland Road if the 49ers signed Wilson this summer.
He still has a year left on his contract in Leeds. This means the team will have to pay transfer fees to sign him this summer, and the attackers have recently proposed that he see his future with the whites in the Premier League.
When asked about the move towards MLS, Bamford said:
However, the former England International did not start 17 appearances in the Leeds Championship in its 2024/25 campaign.
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Bamford turns 32 in September and hasn’t provided enough quality in recent seasons, making him essentially an experienced backup striker for the team, considering he’s played 102 games in 102 career games.
Since scoring eye-catching 17 goals in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign under Marcelo Bielsa, the English forward has failed to deliver consistent quality in the final third of the whites.
Patrick Bamford’s overwhelming form | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
season | exterior | start | xg | the goal |
24/25 (Championship) | 17 | 0 | 2.11 | 0 |
23/24 (Championship) | 33 | 15 | 9.52 | 8 |
22/23 (Premier League) | 28 | 18 | 8.61 | 4 |
21/22 (Premier League) | 9 | 7 | n/a | 2 |
20/21 (Premier League) | 38 | 37 | n/a | 17 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||||
As you can see in the table above, Bamford has scored only 14 league goals in the last four seasons, and has performed his XG in three seasons where Sofa Score tracks the data on that stat.
Meanwhile, Wilson has scored 35 Premier League goals for Newcastle in his last four campaigns. This shows the Gulf Coast between the two players, especially considering that half of Bamford’s season has come to tier 2.
This means that it will come as an immediate upgrade for Bamford from a football standpoint, due to excellent goal returns while Wilson is playing at a higher level.
The Newcastle star has played more than 100 more games in the Premier League, bringing more experience to the table. This means Leeds’ targets can play the role of experienced backup strikers much more effectively than previous Chelsea prospects.
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So, if the 49ers sign Wilson, essentially an upgraded version of the British striker, then there’s no need for Bamford on Elland Road next season. So, if the Newcastle man arrived in West Yorkshire this summer, his career at the club could have been absolutely over.
