Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa should urge the club to make a summer move for West Brom’s Okay Yokuslu amid Paul Robinson’s transfer claim.
What’s the story?
Yokuslu joined Sam Allardyce’s side on loan from Celta Vigo until the end of the season, and when asked if he could join a Premier League side if the Baggies get relegated, Robinson suggested Leeds as a potential destination.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former Whites goalkeeper said: “He will be highly sought-after this summer. He plays in a very similar way to Kalvin Phillips and that is the type of player that Leeds need.
“It is going to be a difficult one to sell though. Would he want to be Kalvin Phillips’ backup? He is playing week in, week out right now. I would like to see him play across the midfield in other positions.”
Victor Orta’s chance
With West Brom heading for relegation back to the Championship, there will be no questioning that some of the Baggies’ best players will look to be prised away by those still in the Premier League.
Chief among those will surely be the £3.6m-rated Yokuslu, who has been nothing short of a revelation since joining West Brom earlier this year.
His teammate at the Hawthorns, Kyle Bartley, has waxed lyrical about the kind of impression the holding midfielder has made at the club, saying: “He’s been brilliant. He seems to have settled in really quickly which is always important for a player at a new club. You can see already that he’s a really good player.
“I thought he was great against Manchester United on his full debut and then he backed that up with another impressive performance on Saturday against Burnley. He’s tenacious. He’s good on the ball. He’s calm and composed.”
As per Whoscored, Yokuslu’s average match rating of 6.91 in the Premier League is the highest of any Baggies player who’s featured more than at least once for the club – a real indication of just how big of an influence he already is and how he’s hit the ground running.
The Baggies’ relegation would give Victor Orta the perfect chance to snap up a potential bargain, and given the way he has performed for Allardyce’s side, it’s a player Bielsa should urge Leeds to make a summer move for.
Given all the talk has been about how Leeds go about trying to find cover for Kalvin Phillips, bringing in Yokuslu from a potentially already relegated West Brom seems like an absolute no-brainer.
Meanwhile, this man could be Leeds’ new Ben White…