I backed myself to be better than Kylian Mbappé - now Leeds United could sign me for just £8.5m
Leeds United have been linked with a bid for a former wonderkid who was once tipped to be the next Mbappé.
Sometimes, a player’s career path follows that of another so closely that the script is written for them – one such player was Willem Geubbels, a French forward whose big-money move to AS Monaco as a teenager made comparisons to Kylian Mbappé, who had just left for PSG, irresistible. When he made that €20m transfer at the age of just 17, however, he probably didn’t picture himself moving to Leeds United a few years later.
Geubbels once backed himself to be even better than Mbappé, the player he was ostensibly replacing, but this was a script he couldn’t follow. Having scored just one goal for Monaco, he was shipped off to Switzerland with his career seemingly in tatters -but now, he could be on his way to the Premier League as he looks to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Why Leeds are in the market for Willem Geubbels
For a while Geubbels, now 23, seemed destined to go down in football history as a failed prospect, a player who would wind up in lists of former wonderkids who couldn’t live up to the hype – but the narrative is starting to shift.
Geubbels wasn’t ready to step into Mbappé’s oversized shoes at Monaco, despite confidently asserting that “I can very well see myself following his footsteps and doing better” than his storied predecessor. He ended up making a mere 17 senior appearances for the club that made such a significant investment in his future, did little better on loan at Nantes, and by 2023 he found himself at St. Gallen in the Swiss league. It all looked rather bleak.
But Geubbels has been a hit, at last, in his new home. Following a slow start, he scored eight goals in 2023/24 and really hit his stride over the past year, bagging 14 goals and three assists as he established himself as his side’s best player. His career may not quite mirror that of Mbappé just yet, but he’s finally trending in the right direction.
That form in Switzerland has attracted attention, too – and recent reports from France suggest that several teams are keen on signing him, including Leeds, Sheffield United and Southampton. Given that Leeds are on their way back to the Premier League, one would imagine that they would have an edge.
Apparently offers arrived in January to the tune of €8m (£6.8m) but were rebuffed by St. Gallen – but now they are prepared to reluctantly let Geubbels move on, for a fee of around €10m (£8.5m). Decent money for the Super League, and apparently enough to dissuade some French sides from making a move, but peanuts for most English top flight teams.
Can Geubbels finally live up to expectations in the Premier League?
Of course, slightly belated success in Switzerland doesn’t guarantee readiness for the Premier League, and while he may be gaining some overdue ground, it’s fair to suggest that Geubbels has a little way to go before he lives up to those old Mbappé comparisons.
Geubbels’ success at St. Gallen can be attributed less to his technical quality than to his ability to work his way into space and his hard work off the ball. A central striker who’s highly effective in the press and off the shoulder of the last man, his conversion rate in front of goal is mediocre – he was credited with missing 18 ‘big chances’ over the past season – but he puts himself into enough good areas that he inevitably finds the net enough to make a significant difference.
His touch and the quality of his passing leave plenty to be desired, and he doesn’t look cut out for a role as a number ten or a wide forward, but between a quick burst of acceleration and dangerously good instincts for finding an unexpected half-yard of space in the box, he can serve as both a poacher and as a forward who can beat defenders on the outside down the channels.
Most likely, were he to make the rumoured move to Elland Road, he would act as competition for Joël Piroe up front, offering an alternative option when a burst of pace is needed or when space in the box is proving hard to come by. His supposed price tag seems appropriate for a rotational option at a freshly-promoted side.
Whether he can translate his resurgence in Switzerland into a career which even somewhat mimics Mbappé remains to be seen, but he’s finally proving that while he may not be the player Monaco hoped they were buying seven years ago, he is a dangerous player who can succeed on his own terms. He may not be better than Mbappé, but better than Patrick Bamford was a few years ago, perhaps? That may be all that Leeds need to survive.