Leeds United are currently attempting to put together a team that is capable of avoiding an instant relegation from the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The Whites know that they are facing an incredibly difficult task ahead of them, as the last six teams that have been promoted to the top-flight have all come straight back down.
Daniel Farke and his recruitment team have already been hard at work to improve the defensive side of the squad, as three of the four signings so far have been defenders.
Sebastiaan Bornauw and Jaka Bijol arrived to bolster the manager’s options at the heart of the defence, whilst Gabriel Gudmundsson has signed to be the new first-choice left-back.
However, the Whites have yet to really make a statement with a big signing to improve their attack, which they may need to propel them to safety, as they did when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge.
Victor Orta made sure that the head coach had enough quality to work with in the Premier League by splashing the cash to sign Raphinha from Rennes.
Why Raphinha was a statement signing for Leeds
The West Yorkshire outfit reportedly spent a fee of £17m to sign the Brazilian forward from the Ligue 1 side, which was not an outrageous sum of money to pay, but it was still a statement of intent.
Leeds were willing to put big money on the table to improve their forward line ahead of a return to the Premier League, and they were richly rewarded with Raphinha’s performances on the pitch in his two seasons in England.
The Brazil international turned out to be a statement signing for the Whites because it was his output in the final third that really helped the team to kick on and stay up in both seasons.
Raphinha hit the ground running with six goals and nine assists in the Premier League in his first year in England, before he racked up 11 goals and ten ‘big chances’ created in the division in the 2021/22 campaign.
Non-penalty goals
0.22
Top 16%
Non-penalty xG
0.22
Top 10%
Expected Assisted Goals
0.23
Top 6%
Assists
0.09
Top 42%
Shot-creating actions
4.20
Top 7%
As you can see in the table above, the Leeds star ranked very highly among his positional peers in pretty much all of the noteworthy attacking metrics, which speaks to the kind of quality he produced in front of goal.
This shows that he was a statement signing for the Whites because they splashed the cash to bring him to Elland Road and paid them back with survival-clinching performances in front of goal.
Raphinha’s importance to the team is illustrated by the fact that Leeds were relegated from the Premier League the season after he was sold to Barcelona for a fee of £55m in the summer of 2022.
It is now down to the recruitment chiefs to find Farke’s own Raphinha-level signing; a player who can come in and make a huge impact in the final third to lead the team to survival.
Earlier this month, journalist Ian Darke was asked about where Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth could end up, and the reporter said: “Maybe Newcastle or Leeds, say Newcastle lost Isak, it is not the worst idea.”
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Whilst there are no concrete links suggesting that the Whites are plotting a swoop for the Norway international, a move for the forward could be this summer’s version of Orta’s Raphinha signing.
Why Leeds should sign Alexander Sorloth
Whilst it is, obviously, important to have a reliable defensive shape and structure, the bottom line is that goals win games and Leeds need players who can produce enough quality in front of goals to win them enough points to stay in the Premier League.
Raphinha provided goals and assists in abundance to keep Leeds in the top-flight for two seasons, which is why he was such an important player for the club, and Sorloth has the potential to make a similar impact at Elland Road.
Supporters who may not pay attention to leagues outside of England may be skeptical at first, given that the striker scored one goal in 20 games for Crystal Palace between 2018 and 2019.
However, Sorloth has forged an excellent career for himself since moving on from Selhurst Park and currently finds himself at Atletico Madrid, one of the top teams in Europe.
The Norway international, who was signed by Atleti for £27m, has proven his quality as a consistent goalscorer in LaLiga in the last two seasons with Villarreal and his current club.
Leeds need a player who can offer a threat in front of goal on a regular basis to boost their efforts to avoid relegation, and Sorloth’s form in the past two seasons suggests that he is the man for the job.
Appearances
34
35
Starts
30
15
xG
12.35
17.02
Goals
23
20
Big chances created
6
2
Assists
6
2
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed marksman has scored 43 goals in the last two LaLiga campaigns for Villarreal and Atleti combined, scoring goals regularly as both a consistent starter and as an impact substitute.
Sorloth, who was hailed as “legendary” by OptaJose after scoring four goals against Real Sociedad, has shown that he can thrive as a goalscorer at the top level whilst playing different roles in a team, which speaks to his adaptability and his quality.
Therefore, the 29-year-old star may be the perfect candidate to be the next Raphinha signing for Leeds, because the kind of goalscoring output that he can provide could win the team enough points to avoid an instant relegation next season.
However, as aforementioned, Darke’s prediction is all we have to go on at the moment. This means that it remains to be seen whether or not he will be an active target for the Whites this summer.
The dream squad Leeds could build: £150m spent & "generational" star joins
Here’s what the Leeds squad could look like at the end of the summer.
3 ByDan EmeryJul 12, 2025
Leeds should, though, push the boat out to sign the striker because it would be a statement of intent to sign a forward with proven quality, just like when they brought Raphinha in from Ligue 1 in 2020.