Leeds United believe that they stand a “realistic chance” of signing Paris Saint-Germain forward Arnaud Kalimuendo this summer, according to Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports.
The Whites have made six summer signings so far this transfer window, and look very much like adding more as Jesse Marsch looks to rebuild what was once Marco Bielsa’s squad.
What’s the latest on Kalimuendo?
According to reports in Italy, Leeds have now given up on signing Club Brugge attacker Charles De Ketelaere, and are now focused on bringing in Kalimuendo to the club this summer instead.
And according to L’Equipe, after the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, new PSG manager Christopher Galtier is prepared to let Kalimuendo leave the club with Newcastle United, Leicester City, and Nottingham Forest all monitoring the Frenchman’s situation.
And Jacobs believes that Leeds are confident that they stand a chance of signing the 12-time France U21 international this summer.
What has Jacobs said about Kalimuendo?
He told GIVEMESPORT: “Arnaud Kalimuendo would be an excellent signing for Leeds.
“Newcastle are tracking him too, along with Chelsea’s Armando Broja.
“Kalimuendo would be a bargain at around £20m and is a very complete forward.
“He is technically gifted, and always seems to find space.
“Leeds, feel they stand a realistic chance.”
Would Kalimuendo be a good signing for Leeds?
The signing of Kalimuendo would definitely fill a gap for Leeds, who had a close-shave with relegation to the Championship last season, after struggling for the majority of the campaign to fill the void in the striker position left by Patrick Bamford, who was injured for a large proportion of the last campaign.
The £16.2m-rated man spent last season in the same league on loan at RC Lens from PSG, where he made 35 appearances and scored 13 goals in that time, according to Transfermarkt.
Kalimuendo has the ability to drop back and bring his attacking teammates into the game, which is shown by the fact that he ranked in the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues and European competition for pass completion rate per 90 minutes (82.6%), according to FBref.
An average SofaScore rating of 6.82 for his performances in Ligue 1 last season suggest that at the age of 20, Kalimuendo has plenty of room to improve and would likely be able to adapt to the step-up of Premier League football, sooner rather than later.
It seems like a no-brainer for Leeds to pursue the signing of the PSG man, with the club struggling to perform last season when an out and out senior striker was absent for the side.
Kalimuendo could potentially be that signing to fill that gap, and to fire Leeds up the table next season.
