Whilst the drama of the Premier League continues through May, Leeds United are already done and dusted with their triumphant 2024/25 campaign in the Championship.
Indeed, Daniel Farke’s Whites would close out the season as champions, having obtained a remarkable 100-point haul, which is the highest points total ever reached by the West Yorkshire giants.
With no football left to play on the pitch, Leeds’ main focus now rests on the hectic transfer window to follow, with plenty of rumours already coming out of Elland Road.
Leeds' attempts to strengthen up top
Farke won’t want to lose the identity of the squad that managed to leap up to the Premier League, but he will be aware of how punishing the top division can be if improvements are not sought after.
One area that Leeds look to be prioritising is in attack, with rumours already coming to the surface that the newly promoted side are keen on the likes of Richarlison and Troy Parrott as fresh centre-forward personnel.
But, there is another new face in this department that will really intrigue the Elland Road masses, with Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett revealing that the Whites could put a new £100m+ transfer kitty to good use by snapping up Everton star Beto, a player they have a vested interest in ahead of the summer.
Dorsett has further revealed that it’s unclear whether the Toffees would allow for this switch to take place, but if Farke and Co were successful in landing the towering 27-year-old, the German could have his next Teemu Pukki on his hands with the Finnish ace always a solid and robust option up top for Norwich City.
How Beto could be Farke's new Pukki
Obviously, the main standout moments of Pukki’s career at the Canaries under Farke came in the Championship.
The 129-time Finland international would collect 65 of his strikes in Norfolk in the bread and butter of the second tier, but the 5 foot 11 menace did manage to show off some flashes of his immense quality up a level too under his ex-manager.
Whilst Farke’s Canaries did immediately fall back down to the EFL at the end of the 2019/20 season, Pukki could at least exit that dismal campaign with his head raised high, having amassed a respectable 11 strikes from 36 contests.
Beto could well eclipse that total in the here and now for Moyes’ side with three league games left to go, with the German perhaps seeing a similar style player to his former great in the Portuguese forward, who could potentially offer the Whites a stable head in attack when navigating the step-up.
Games played
36
27
Goals scored
11
7
Assists
3
0
Touches*
24.0
18.5
Shots*
2.2
1.5
Big chances missed
11
9
Big chances created
4
1
Looking at the table above, Beto hasn’t blown anyone away this season at Goodison Park with seven strikes from 27 league games, but the £17m-rated forward does operate in a similar fashion to his 35-year-old counterpart, with both attackers in question content with limited touches of the ball before firing home an opportunity in the same bullish and dogged fashion.
Moreover, adding in the ex-Udinese man to the Leeds ranks would offer Farke something different to what he currently has at his disposal, with Beto previously praised for his “powerful” nature by former manager Sean Dyche, away from possessing some similar attributes to Pukki.
He could love life in West Yorkshire too lining up next to Dan James and Manor Solomon who twist and turn defences for fun, before then presenting the 27-year-old with some golden chances.
Of course, this could all just be speculative chat churned out of the rumour mill, but if Leeds do have an opportunity to land Beto, they should take it, with Farke ready to work his magic on the Lisbon-born forward like he did with Pukki.
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