Leeds United are ready to raid Borussia Dortmund as they are planning to rope in Raphael Guerreiro to strengthen their defence.
As per TEAMtalk, Raphael Guerreiro is being targeted by Leeds United as Jesse Marsch wants a new left-back in his squad. The Whites have stabilised their form with back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth. But the American manager wants more addition to bring more competitiveness to the side.
Junior Firpo’s arrival was supposed to end their long-term woes, but the defender has struggled to adapt to the nature of the Premier League and has been on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Stuart Dallas should have been the automatic choice on the left side of the Leeds United defence. But the dependable defender has also been in the treatment room, leaving Marsch very light in this particular department.
Guerreiro has been a regular for Dortmund and will also be part of Portugal’s World Cup contingent. But his current deal will expire in the summer, and Leeds could use this scenario to tempt the player to move to the Premier League.
Pascal Struijk has had to fill in Firpo’s absence, and the Dutch defender has done relatively well as a makeshift left-back. But Leeds do not want to burden him with additional responsibility and thus an offer for Guerreiro suits their stance.
They took a keen interest in the summer but failed to agree on a deal. However, the Whites are quite determined to sign the Portuguese left-back this time, as Marsch does not want to lose the momentum in the Premier League.
Leeds inflicted a first home defeat in nearly two years to Liverpool, which set the tone with a 4-3 win over Bournemouth in the last match. Despite Firpo being fit, Marsch has mostly preferred Struijk on the left side, and Guerreiro will be a like-to-like replacement should he agree to a deal with the club.
Leeds could sign a pre-contract with the Portuguese left-back in January for a summer arrival or a cut-price deal could be possible if Dortmund sanction his departure. The Bundesliga giants are very much in the title race and also progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Losing Guerreiro will be a massive loss for the Black and Yellows, and they might prefer to lose the player in the summer rather than disrupt their current form.
