Forget Igor Paixão: Leeds United already have £13m ex-Chelsea gem lined up as perfect new winger

While newly-promoted Leeds United have certainly been busy in the summer transfer window, not everything has gone exactly according to plan – and the left wing, in particular, has become a persistent headache for Daniel Farke and his transfer team.

A permanent deal for Manor Solomon, who spent last season on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, seems no closer and an admittedly ambitious move for Feyenoord’s hugely impressive winger Igor Paixão failed, with French outfit Marseille stealing in ahead of Leeds to complete a deal worth around £30m. Now Leeds need a Plan B – or even a Plan C – to get their squad up to code before the start of the Premier League season.

Fortunately, a couple of names have cropped up on the rumour mill, and one in particular is still available and could fit the bill very nicely – OGC Nice’s Jérémie Boga.

Jérémie Boga could be just what Leeds United need after missing out on Igor Paixão

Boga, a product of Chelsea’s youth academy, first made his name in the 2019/20 season when he scored 11 league goals for Sassuolo in Serie A, eventually earning himself a move to Atalanta for a reported £19m.

Boga was a little less convincing in Bergamo, however, and failed to completely nail down a starting space either there or at Nice, where he moved ahead of the 2023/24 season. Intermittent injury issues haven’t helped, but he appears to be back on the market this summer despite having two years left on his current contract.

A few weeks ago, the Ivorian international appeared to be on the brink of a loan-to-buy agreement with Trabzonspor in Turkey, with the total value of the transfer coming in somewhere below Nice’s supposed €15m (£13m) asking price – but that move seems to have stalled, and Africa Foot are among outlets reporting that Leeds could take advantage of the situation.

Detail on Leeds’ interest is thin on the ground, and there is no suggestion that a bid has been made – but given that they have only found out that they won’t be getting Paixão in the past day, that’s to be expected. Boga is a back-up option, but may be a fine one.

Although the 28-year-old’s relatively modest track record over the past three seasons doesn’t make him stand out as a potential summer transfer, the left winger – who can also play through the middle – has plenty of qualities that Farke could make use of, in particular his ability to tear through defences with the ball at his feet.

Few wingers in Europe take on and beat a full-back as often as Boga, and his combination of pace, trickery and creativity makes him ideal for teams looking to hit their opponents quickly on the counter-attack. Boga never quite repeated that 11-goal season at Sassuolo, but he still generates shooting chances for his team-mates in volume.

If he stays fit, then he should represent a fine rotational option at the very least, with a very high ceiling given his technical and physical qualities – not quite enough on his own to keep a team in the Premier League, perhaps, as Paixão might have been, but a useful addition nonetheless.

Leeds left looking for alternatives as summer transfer window wears on

If the rumours connecting Boga with a move to Elland Road prove inaccurate, however, or should the winger end up in Turkey after all, then Leeds will be casting around for alternatives – and they are beginning to look a little thin on the ground, especially in light of the surprisingly glacial progress over a deal for Solomon, one which had been presumed to be relatively easy to get done.

Leeds had been linked with Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Franck Honorat – more usually a right winger but who had played on the left at former side Brest – but any hopes of a deal there were killed off when the Frenchman penned a new contract with his current club.

Elsewhere, the rumour mill hasn’t thrown up too many suggestions, either evidence that Leeds had too many eggs in Paixão’s basket or simply that they have done a good job of keeping their shortlist quiet.

There are few proven Premier League players available as it stands. Newcastle United could end up allowing Harvey Barnes to leave should they sign another attacking player such as Yoane Wissa, but their own slow progress in the transfer market makes that a relatively distant prospect as it sounds.

In any case, Barnes, who came very close to signing for Leeds all the way back in 2018 when he was still a young prospect coming through the ranks at Leicester City, would likely stretch the budget to around the same extent as Paixão, and given the winger’s injury history – worse than Boga’s – it would be something of a gamble, and there is no guarantee that Barnes would be prepared to join a side who are likely to be involved in a relegation battle by simple virtue of being newcomers in the top flight.

In short, if Leeds are forced to look past Boga then they may have to get creative and turn to the continental market for a hidden gem – but with the transfer window moving at pace, they will have to act fast to get a suitable deal over the line. The coming days could prove critical to Leeds’ chances of building a team that can survive.