Leeds United ‘make contact’ for Julian Brandt alternative – he may be a last resort: View
· Niall Togher · 2026-08-06 · nguồn gốc
Leeds United agonisingly missed out on signing Julian Brandt this summer.
The German playmaker, who has plenty of Bundesliga, international and Champions League experience, was available as a free agent after his deal at Borussia Dortmund expired.
Leeds had prepared an offer for the 30-year-old, but Brandt opted to sign for Ajax instead. It was so well known that Leeds were in for Brandt. So, the 49ers will have been frustrated to not get a deal over the line.
However, according to recent reports, Leeds have been actively searching for an alternative to Brandt.
Leeds United ‘make contact’ with Lyon for Pavel Sulc
According to reports from the Daily Mirror, Leeds made contact with Lyon a couple of weeks ago regarding a potential deal for their attacking midfielder, Pavel Sulc.
Sulc, 25, enjoyed an impressive Ligue 1 campaign last season. The Czech Republic international scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 27 league appearances last season.
United have not followed up on their initial contact. This leads me to believe that they may only revisit a potential deal for Sulc as a last resort later in the window if they fail to land any of their other targets.
However, if they do this, they risk missing out on Sulc. According to the report, Aston Villa and Everton are said to be interested in the player.
According to previous reports, Sulc could cost around £21million to sign this summer, should Leeds choose to pursue a deal for him.
Leeds’ transfer strategy for attacking players confuses me
Brandt and Sulc are more attacking midfielders. Whilst Igor Paixao, who Leeds have also been linked with recently, is more of an out-and-out winger.
After spending £34million on Tarik Muharemovic, Leeds have upped this by forking out £40million for James Trafford.
You would imagine we do not have that much cash left to spare. Another striker and left-back are also reportedly additions we are looking to make.
So when it comes to signing a more attacking midfielder like Sulc, or a more traditional winger like Paixao, you would imagine Leeds could only afford one this summer. To be linked to players in both positions puzzles me.
Personally, I would prefer to sign another winger. But the 49ers need to decide what direction they are going to take our recruitment in when it comes to signing another attacking player.