Leeds United are eyeing a summer move for Slavia Prague sensation Abdallah Sima in the transfer window.
What’s the story?
With the Premier League season inching closer towards its finale, it appears Marcelo Bielsa is already turning his eye to how best to strengthen this Leeds squad.
And, according to Football Insider, the club are keeping close tabs on the 19-year-old Sima, and that the forward “fits the profile” Bielsa is after.
Should Leeds replace Patrick Bamford this summer?
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The report adds that Leeds could face competition from rival Premier League clubs, with the likes of Everton and Manchester United also credited with having an interest.
Imagine him and Bamford
Primarily a right-winger, the teenager can also play up top, and has drawn impressive comparisons with Arsenal Invincible Thierry Henry, who, of course, started his career out wide before being transformed into one of the Premier League’s leading marksmen by Arsene Wenger.
Brian Laudrup meanwhile said (via GlasgowLive): “Sima, in particular, is a wonderful player. He is only 19 years of age, but is very good in the air and can take players on. He’s quick and is scoring for fun in the Czech league.”
And, former Chelsea goalkeeper and Czech Republic legend Petr Cech even went so far as to suggest “there aren’t many players like this in Europe.”
Dubbed as “always a threat” by former Liverpool star Vladimir Smicer, Sima could build a strong relationship with Patrick Bamford, and offer the Leeds man some vital support in terms of sharing the goal-scoring burden.
This season for Slavia, the attacker has bagged 19 goals in 36 games in all competitions, including showing his pedigree at European level with four goals in the Europa League – one of them coming in a 2-0 win away at Leicester.
Sima’s ability to come inside and be a threat in the penalty box would give Leeds that security of always having a presence in the area whenever Bamford makes those darting runs into the channel to draw the centre-backs out of position.
And, standing at 6 foot 2, Sima has got the height and physicality to be a real danger from crosses being whipped in from out wide, and offer the Whites another player to hit other than Bamford.
Sima’s versatility in being able to play on both flanks and through the middle gives Bielsa the perfect option to either partner him with Bamford as a front two, or use him as an inside forward who can link up with Leeds’ number nine by coming in off the flank.
Either way, it’s a partnership that could bear rich fruit for Leeds next season.
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