It seems that Leeds United will need to pay to sign a striker.
The Daily Mirror (January 9, page 56) state that Cauley Woodrow will cost them £7m while Alan Nixon has stated that Dwight Gayle would cost £8m. While The Athletic claim that Adams would be a loan with an obligation to buy for at least £10m.
Adams and Gayle are clearly the better options at those prices as both men have proven that they can bang in the goals at this level, each scoring more than 20 times last season.
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Both men would do a job, but which is the better option?
Adams is six years younger than Gayle, but he’s also more expensive, so it’s going to be tough for Leeds to decide on which forward they want to go for.
We asked out writers to give their verdicts on which player the Yorkshire club should opt to go for.
Kealan Hughes
“This is certainly an interesting decision to make and if Leeds do just have to pick between the two then they are in a very fortunate position, as both players should allow them to strengthen and gain an advantage over their rivals.
“As mentioned above the club could look long-term by plumping for Adams, but given Gayle’s consistent record in the second tier he would be the more reliable option.
“All Leeds need to do this month is sign players to push them over that promotion line, and the Newcastle striker should be able to do that, as he was on fire last year in the Championship with 24 goals.
“As a poacher he is also the most like-for-like replacement for Eddie Nketiah, and that means he adds something different from Patrick Bamford, which will be very useful for Marcelo Bielsa.”
James Beavis “Adams’ struggles at Southampton this season – no goals in 19 appearances – suggest that his impressive 2018/19 campaign with Birmingham City in which he netted 22 times could be nothing more than a flash in the pan, whereas Gayle is a proven goalscorer over a longer period of time at this level with 59 goals in 100 Championship outings.“The Newcastle United man has already found the net regularly with 24 in 40 in England’s second-tier for a team under pressure to win promotion last term when he was with West Bromwich Albion, and he could be a similar success story at Elland Road.“Marcelo Bielsa needs a striker he can rely on to do the business on a regular basis, and you would have to back the experience of Gayle over a clearly lacking in confidence 23-year-old right now.“Gayle is a proven poacher and the better option for Bielsa as he targets promotion for the Yorkshire outfit.” Vijievan Jeevathayalan
“In what could turn out to potentially be a promotion-defining decision, Leeds should go all out for Dwight Gayle.
“Whilst Che Adams is the younger of the two being linked with the club at just 23, his failure to score this season for Southampton would surely have dented his confidence levels. On the other hand, despite not finding the back of the net himself this campaign, Gayle’s greater experience means he will no doubt find it easier to get his career back on track, and Leeds desperately need someone to hit the ground running to boost their promotion hopes.
“The striker would walk into the side at the expense of Patrick Bamford, whose performance against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend once again drew the ire of the Leeds faithful. Gayle represents more of a sure-fire guarantee that he can do the business for the Whites, with 59 goals in 100 Championship games. Adams on the other would just be too much of a gamble”
Charles Jones
“This is a really tough one to judge, and I don’t envy Victor Orta in this scenario one bit.
“Financially, it probably makes more sense to sign Adams. Aged just 23 the forward’s resale value could increase in the future if he rediscovers the form that saw him score 22 goals for Birmingham City, but you have to bear in mind that the 2018/19 season was the only time Adams has broken the 20 goal barrier in the Championship whereas Dwight Gayle did it in 2016/17 with Newcastle.
“Overall, I think that Gayle is the safer bet here, but Adams has the potential to be the better signing.”
Meanwhile, Danny Pugh has shared his excitement for one of Leeds’ post-promotion plans.
