Leeds eye £10m bargain in "top class" 44-goal gem who's like Drogba, Bielsa needs him - opinion

Leeds United could land Valentin Castellanos in a bargain swoop in the summer, according to reports…

Argentine outlet TN Deportivo (via Sport Witness) claim the door has opened for the Yorkshire giants to make their move after River Plate failed with their recent attempts to sign him.

It’s thought that there is a big difference between the asking price of New York City and the Primera Division champions, whilst the Premier League outfit are prepared to pay €12.3m (£10m) to bring him to Elland Road ahead of next season.

The report states that Castellanos could be now sold to Leeds with a switch to the Millionaires ‘99%’ dead and buried.

This would be something of a bargain for director of football Victor Orta and the club’s recruitment team. £10m for a player of the 23-year-old’s quality could turn out to be a steal.

Although valued at a slightly lower £6.3m by Transfermarkt, the Argentinian forward has proven to be a prolific marksman in the Major League Soccer, where he won the 2021 Golden Boot award, finishing the campaign on 19 goals and eight assists.

He also led the division for shots attempted (132) and shots on target (57), meaning for every three shots on target, he found the net, which is a pretty remarkable return.

Such form has led to high praise indeed, particularly from his manager Ronny Deila, who was once in charge of Celtic.

“Off the pitch he does everything right all the time, he’s fit and he battles,” he told the MLS website. “Right now he can do it alone, but we have more depth in the squad and we could play two up front as well when Talles is more fit and Heber is back again. What Taty has done this year has been top class.”

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Also catching the eye of Pep Guardiola, Castellanos has been likened to