Leeds United are currently battling to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, following on from their relegation last summer.
The Whites spent three years in the top-flight before they were relegated under Sam Allardyce, who had replaced Javi Gracia towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign, and they then swooped to bring in Daniel Farke to lead them back to glory.
It has been a successful appointment so far as the former Norwich City head coach has led the Yorkshire-based outfit to second in the table as it stands.
Leeds are three points off Leicester City in first place but they are also only one point ahead of Ipswich Town in third, and five ahead of Southampton in fourth, which illustrates how close it is between the four teams most likely to land the two automatic promotion places.
Despite there being no guarantee, at this stage, that the Whites will be playing Premier League football next season, the club are reportedly already looking at targets to bolster their playing squad should they make the step up from the Championship.
Latest Leeds transfer news
According to Turkish outlet Aksam, Farke's side are eyeing up a former Premier League centre-forward to add more firepower to the group in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that Leeds have their eye on Fenerbahce marksman Michy Batshuayi to compete with Patrick Bamford, Mateo Joseph, and Joel Piroe.
It states that the Whites are 'expected' to knock on the door at the end of the season to pursue a move for the Belgium international, who has been in fine form in Turkey in recent seasons.
The 30-year-old number nine's current contract with Fenerbahce is due to expire later this year, which means that the club could be able to snap him up for £0 on a free transfer.
Aksam does not mention any attempt by the Turkish giants to extend his deal before the summer transfer window. However, Transfermarkt claims that there is an option to extend his contract by a further year, which could allow his club to exercise that and then rake in a transfer
fee for his services, should they choose to do so.
At this stage, it remains to be seen what Fenerbahce are going to do about his contractual situation and there is the possibility that Leeds could snap him up for nothing if they do not extend his deal.
The experienced striker could be a shrewd addition for £0, given his career so far, and he could thrive alongside Georginio Rutter, who is a number nine's dream with his consistent creative quality in the number ten position.
Georginio Rutter's Championship stats this season
The French whiz, who was signed from Hoffenheim for a club-record £35.5m in January 2023, has been in terrific form in the Championship throughout the season so far.
He has been one of Farke's outstanding performers at the top end of the pitch with his ability to unlock opposition defences on a regular basis.
Rutter has produced six goals and 13 assists in 35 Championship matches for the Whites during the 2023/24 campaign, which means that he has averaged a direct goal contribution every 1.84 appearances on average.
As you can see in the chart above, the 21-year-old wizard stacks up well against his positional peers in the second tier in a host of progressive and creative statistics.
He ranks within the top 2% for both goal-creating and shot-creating actions, and the top 1% for assists (0.42) per 90 for Leeds, which shows that the young gem has been one of the best players in the division at creating goalscoring chances for his teammates.
In fact, only Abdul Fatawu (25) of Leicester has created more 'big chances' for his fellow attackers than Rutter (21) in the Championship this season.
These statistics show that there are few better than the Whites star when it comes to splitting open opposition defences to create high-quality opportunities in front of goal.
This is why Rutter could be a dream partner for Batshuayi, or any other forward potentially signed by the club in the summer, as the French magician could provide the striker with plenty of chances to find the back of the net.
Michy Batshuayi's goalscoring record
The 30-year-old marksman has been around the block and proven himself as a goalscorer in several countries and leagues throughout his career.
He has racked up 182 goals in 457 club appearances in all competitions to date, along with an eye-catching 27 goals in 53 caps for Belgium – more than one every other game on average.
Batshuayi already has experience in English football as he enjoyed spells with Crystal Palace and Chelsea, where he scored a combined 33 goals in 110 appearances.
The Leeds target has spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahce in Turkey and has caught the eye with his impressive goalscoring record.
Appearances
19
Starts
16
Goals
12
Big chances missed
5
Minutes per goal
102
As you can see in the table above, Batshuayi enjoyed a terrific first season in the Super Lig with a return of 12 goals in 16 starts, which contributed to a tally of 20 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions – including five strikes in five domestic cup outings.
The former Chelsea striker, who was once hailed as "deadly" by journalist Josh Bunting, has followed that up with 20 goals in 35 matches for Fenerbahce this season, which means that he has scored 40 goals in 67 games for the Turkish giants in total.
Interestingly, the attacker has only started one of his 20 Super Lig appearances during the 2023/24 campaign but has still plundered eight league goals in that time, whilst ex-Manchester City star Edin Dzeko has scored 18 goals in 28 starts as the first-choice centre-forward.
Overall, Batshuayi has scored goals in Turkey, England, Germany, with nine goals in 14 matches for Borussia Dortmund, France, with 33 goals in 78 games for Marseille, and for his country.
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Therefore, the possible free agent could be an excellent, cheap, addition to the squad to bolster the forward line and form a fantastic pairing with Rutter in the final third, as he could have the quality to finish the chances that the midfielder creates based on his exceptional scoring rate for Fenerbahce and throughout his career.
