Leeds United’s inability to hold onto a Premier League lead was their undoing away at Newcastle United on Wednesday evening.
Every time the Whites thought they had a cushion in the wild 4-3 loss, the Magpies then roared back, with the 1-1 draw picked up against Manchester United, before this crazy night at St James’ Park unfolded, also seeing Leeds give up their slender 1-0 lead within three minutes, when Matheus Cunha beat Lucas Perri.
Daniel Farke could now look to the chaotic January transfer window as an apt time to address some of his side’s leaky defensive problems, with plenty of centre-back targets catching the German’s eye.
£11m star now wants to move to Leeds
Persistent rumours seem to indicate that Axel Disasi will pull on Leeds white before February’s deadline comes into play.
Indeed, it had been reported that the Chelsea reserve centre-back was in the advanced stages of swapping Stamford Bridge for Elland Road.
However, this has seemingly now gone quiet, as a door opens on a different defensive deal.
Alongside chasing after the one-time Aston Villa loanee, Leeds are also in a prime position to try and land Union Berlin colossus Danilho Doekhi, according to a fresh report from TEAMTalk.
The report states that Doekhi is ‘very keen’ on swapping Germany for England to work under Farke, with sources close to the deal revealing that the Dutchman would jump at the opportunity to test himself in such a demanding division.
This enthusiasm could be key in speeding up a deal, with Leeds wanting a cut-price move that falls below Union Berlin’s current asking price of £11m, given that Doekhi’s Bundesliga contract expires in the summer.
Noted as being a buy that could be ‘essential’ to their survival hopes, this really does have all the makings of being a sublime mid-season swoop if it can be pulled off, with Doekhi a better signing, arguably, to get over the line than winning Disasi’s signature.
Why Doekhi would be a better signing than Disasi
While Disasi has completely vanished without a trace from the Chelsea starting lineup, Doekhi has continued to shine in the Bundesliga as a well-rounded centre-back for Steffen Baumgart’s men.
Amazingly, this season in league action alone, Doekhi has managed to chip in with four goals from just 15 clashes, with Bundesliga-based reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt even going as far as to dub him a “goal-scoring menace” for his effectiveness in front of goal.
Disasi does have three Premier League strikes under his belt, but he would no doubt take some time to get back to his best, as opposed to being rusty, having last featured for the West London outfit in the league back in January of last year.
Whereas, Doekhi is deep in his prime right now in the German capital, with the 27-year-old very much living up to the “physical” tag once handed to him by ex-Ajax midfielder Ronald De Boer this season, which should stand him in good stead to battle valiantly towards the foot of the Premier League.
|
Doekhi’s league numbers (25/26) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat – per 90 mins* |
Doekhi |
|
Games played |
15 |
|
Goals scored |
4 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches* |
48.5 |
|
Accurate passes* |
24.9 (76%) |
|
Clearances* |
5.3 |
|
Total duels won* |
7.5 |
|
Clean sheets |
4 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
The table shows off Doekhi at his commanding peak playing in Germany, with the Rotterdam-born titan putting his 6-foot-3 frame to good use this season when averaging an imperious 7.5 duels won per Bundesliga clash.
Disasi would only average a far weaker 4.3 duels won per league match when he was a regular in the Blues’ defence during the 2023/24 campaign, with Doekhi also only one clean sheet shy of the number two’s clean sheet tally for that same season, despite playing 16 games fewer at the mid-point of the 34-game marathon.
For £11m, Farke will hope he can strike another golden deal shopping from his native country, with the likes of Anton Stach instantly settling into life in England, after leaving Hoffenheim behind last summer.
The expectation will be that Doekhi can take to the English game like a duck to water as well, with Disasi perhaps lacking the same match sharpness to be an instant hit.
Adding in another warrior at the back should also help Leeds in their quest to stop giving up so many precarious leads, as Farke attempts to add in some signings this January to help the Whites comfortably secure survival.
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