"Been told...": Smyth now reveals big Leeds transfer twist, supporters will be gutted - opinion

Graham Smyth has dropped an update on reported Leeds United transfer target Valentin Castellanos.

In a recent post on Twitter, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s chief football writer revealed that, despite recent reports linking the Whites with a move for the New York City FC centre-forward this summer, he has been informed that the 23-year-old is not currently on Victor Orta’s list of attacking targets in the transfer market.

In response to a supporter asking whether or not there was any truth to the rumours of Leeds’ interest in the Argentina under-23 internatioal, Smyth said: “Been told he’s not on the list.”

Considering just how exciting a prospect Castellanos undoubtedly is, in addition to how well-suited the striker would appear to be for Jesse Marsch’s setup at Elland Road, the news that the club are not currently pursuing a deal for the 23-year-old is sure to leave supporters gutted.

Indeed, over his 35 MLS appearances in 2021, the £10.8m-rated talent was in astonishing form for NYCFC, bagging 22 goals, providing eight assists and creating eight big chances for his team-mates, in addition to taking 4.1 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.9 dribbles per game.

These metrics saw the £3.5k-per-week striker – who Conor McGilligan dubbed an “absolutely perfect” fit for the Whites – earn a quite spectacular seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.28. That ranked him not only as Ronny Deila’s second-best performer in the league, but also as the 21st-best player in the MLS as a whole.

The 23-year-old has been in similarly fine form over his 11 league outings in 2022, with the Argentine having already scored seven goals, registered one assist and created four big chances for his team-mates, with these returns seeing the