Big Gruev upgrade: Leeds knocking on the door to sign £17m "monster"
da winzada777： Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has been hit with some frustrating injury blows in the early weeks of the season, as Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka have both been ruled out for several weeks.
da brdice： The German boss has had to go with Ilia Gruev in the number six position in the last two Premier League games because of those injuries, and the Whites failed to score in a 6-0 loss to Arsenal and a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
Whilst a point from those two matches, for a newly-promoted side, is far from the end of the world, Leeds may still want more from their midfield defensively and offensively.
Gruev has won two duels a game in the top-flight, whilst he has not scored a goal since the play-offs in 2024, per Sofascore, and that may be why the club are reportedly looking to bring in another midfielder.
Leeds eyeing late move for midfield star
The Championship champions have until 7 pm on Monday to finalise their squad for the first half of the campaign, with a new midfield monster on the agenda.
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According to journalist Jose Palacio, via El Larguero, Leeds United are one of the teams in the race to seal a deal for Getafe star Christantus Uche.
The reporter claims that the Whites are knocking on the door to sign the Nigeria international from the Spanish side in a last-gasp swoop for his services.
He adds, though, that Crystal Palace are also ready to join the bidding for the 22-year-old star, whom he claims has turned down a move to Wolves, who were pushing to finalise a £17m deal.
It is now down to Leeds to convince Uche to make the move to Elland Road before the deadline, as he could arrive as a big upgrade on Ilia Gruev.
Why Leeds should sign Christantus Uche
The Getafe whiz is an incredibly interesting transfer target for the club because of the versatility that he would provide, as Jose Bordalas has utilised him as a centre-forward and as a central midfielder in LaLiga.
U23 scout Antonio Mango once claimed that he could be developed into a “midfield monster”, in the same way that Joelinton was for Newcastle, and Farke could do that to make him an upgrade on Gruev.
The Nigerian brute has the physical attributes and experience in a major league in Spain to suggest that he could offer way more physicality to the team in front of the defence than the Bulgaria international.
Uche’s outings as a striker also mean that he has the potential to provide more of a goal threat from midfield than Gruev, as the clip above shows that he can score goals at the top level.
24/25 season
Uche (LaLiga)
Gruev (Championship)
Appearances
33
23
Goals
4
0
Assists
6
2
Ground duels won per game
4.1
2.3
Aerial duels won per game
2.8
0.8
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Getafe’s versatile titan offered more in front of goal and more to his team in duels than Gruev did for Leeds at a lower level in the 2024/25 campaign, which means that he could impact games at both ends of the pitch more frequently.
Uche has also started the current season by scoring one goal, providing one assist, and winning eight duels per match in his three outings in LaLiga, whilst the Bulgaria international has only won two duels per game for the Whites, per Sofascore.
These statistics suggest that Leeds would be signing an upgrade on Gruev, as well as a versatile star who can be utilised in other roles, as a midfield monster who can protect the back four to greater effect with his impressive physicality.