Forget McAtee: Leeds United can sign £22m dream alternative to rocket clear of the relegation zone

On the pitch, everything is starting to go according to plan for Leeds United – they’re unbeaten in five matches, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has found form at long last, and the gap between them and the relegation zone is gradually growing. The club’s preparations for the January transfer window, however, have been progressing rather less smoothly.

Regardless of Calvert-Lewin’s recent heroics, attacking reinforcements remain a key priority – but there isn’t much money left to spend and rumoured targets are becoming unobtainable at a disconcerting rate.

Leeds were allegedly keen on FC Midtyjlland wonderkid Franculino Djú, but a recent injury will sideline him for around three months. They were meant to be interested in rising German starlet Younes Ebnoutalib, too, but Eintracht Frankfurt got there first. Now, reports suggest that their interest in Nottingham Forest’s James McAtee could be headed towards an equally unhelpful conclusion – so if that’s the kind of player Daniel Farke is keen to sign, what should Leeds do this January?

Why a player like James McAtee makes perfect sense for Leeds

Leeds have been linked with McAtee on a number of occasions in the past, but the most recent story comes from The Daily Mail, who recently suggested that the Whites were once again taking a look at the 22-year-old forward after a distinctly slow start to life at Nottingham Forest.

McAtee – who has impressed on loan with Sheffield United and put up highly impressive numbers in front of goal for both Manchester City and England’s Under-21s – moved to the City Ground for a reported £30m over the summer but none of Nottingham Forest’s three managers this season seem to have been sure what to do with him.

He’s typically been played as a traditional number ten but has the core attributes of a striker who’s at his best playing off the shoulder of the last man. He simply doesn’t fit neatly into a similar role as Chris Wood or Morgan Gibbs-White, isn’t a natural winger, and the result has been that he’s made just one Premier League start for his new side. It’s not a transfer which has worked out well for anyone concerned.

It's hardly surprising to see it suggested that he might move on, and it’s equally easy to imagine that Farke’s recent switch to a 3-5-2 might make Elland Road a rather logical destination for him – there is a vacancy up front, one recently filled by natural winger Noah Okafor, and a player who acts as a deep-lying midfielder but who can also operate effectively ahead of Calvert-Lewin to make use of his hold-up play makes a considerable amount of sense.

The problem is that quite a few other teams are keen, too. The Mail suggest that sides including Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig are all keen, and Leeds could easily be muscled out of a move – something a recent story from Football Insider suggests is likely to be the case. This may be a sensible transfer rumour, but the odds that Leeds miss out also seem quite high.

Factoring in the finances won’t help, either. There have been mixed reports regarding whether Leeds have any capital to spend this winter after an expensive summer, but they certainly don’t have much – Forest would probably accept an initial loan deal, under the circumstances, but will want to make their money back in the summer at the latest.

Leeds may want to sign someone a little cheaper, especially given that there is an undeniable risk element involved given how small of a sample size McAtee has at Premier League level. He was incredibly efficient in front of goal for City, but only started three matches. There is little proof that he will be as good in the top flight as he has been for England’s age group sides.

So Leeds may need to look for alternatives. Happily, one player on the market seems likely to fit the bill rather nicely.

Why Leeds should circle back to Tyrique George if they can’t sign McAtee

The tricky part about finding an alternative to McAtee is that few players are trained to play in that hybrid striker role in an era in which few sides play with two centre-forwards. There are plenty of wingers, number nines and number tens, but few who come through the youth ranks as specialist supporting strikers.

It’s a role which requires a combination of pace, technical quality and prowess in front of goal, and one young forward who seems set to be on the move this winter does fit the bill: Chelsea’s Tyrique George, who is reportedly pushing to leave Stamford Bridge in search of regular starts.

George was expected to leave for Fulham on transfer deadline day this summer, a move which collapsed at the eleventh hour and scuppered Leeds’ own bid for Harry Wilson in the process – but that could end up working out well if they follow up on their own alleged interest in George, a story reported by the Yorkshire Post among other outlets.

George has operated both as a winger and as a striker for Chelsea, but has largely been relegated to matches in second-tier competitions and has made just one Premier League start for his current club despite an impressive statistical output.

Since making his senior debut for Chelsea, George has scored 10 goals for the club despite making just 23 starts, and has demonstrated both composure in front of goal and genuine creativity – on average, he is involved in creating just under three shooting chances for his team-mates per match, an impressive figure for a forward.

He’s a fine dribbler, his movement off the ball is sharp and he has plenty of raw pace. What he lacks in experience, he makes up for with a list of natural qualities which would appear to make him a natural fit for the kind of role in which McAtee might excel as well.

Chelsea are likely to let him leave on an initial loan deal and while they are expected to want a purchase clause to be included in any deal, most stories concerning George’s future suggest that the asking price would be closer to £20m than the £30m Forest will want for McAtee to recoup their initial outlay. George has many of the same attributes, a similarly promising start to his career behind him, and could cost a little less.

The competition may also be slightly less stiff. Everton and Southampton are supposedly interested, and Fulham could well make a second bid after just missing out on a £22m deal last summer, but Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen aren’t mentioned in the gossip columns. That makes Leeds life a little easier, especially if they continue to look like a team that will survive the season.

A deal for either McAtee or George makes tactical sense for as long as Leeds persist with their new 3-5-2 formation, and both have plenty of promise – but George would most likely be a cheaper gamble to take. Whether they do indeed make an approach remains to be seen, but it’s easy to see the appeal.