Leeds ‘on standby’ to sign 121-goal Premier League striker as huge plea is made over £30m Summerville sale

Leeds United are reportedly set to rival Cardiff City for the signing of Kieffer Moore following reports Bournemouth have put the experienced striker up for sale this month.

The Whites are pushing for promotion after their relegation from the Premier League last season, and currently sit fourth in the second tier. That currently leaves Leeds United seven points adrift of Ipswich Town – currently occupying the second automatic promotion place – and four behind Southampton in third.

With Leicester looking good value for top spot, it seems it is very much all to play for over the second half of the season as the race for promotion heats up.

Now with the January window open for business, Leeds have left space in their squad for a couple of Premier League loans, with Leeds so far using two of their spaces to sign Djed Spece and Joe Rodon, both from Tottenham. As a result, chief executive Angus Kinnear admitted earlier in the season that the Whites could look for a couple of potential additions come the winter window.

However, The Sun reports that Leeds could actually make a new striker signing in the form of Bournemouth hitman, Moore.

The Wales international has had something of a nomadic career, starting out in non-league and playing in League One, the Championship and the Premier League for a variety of different clubs.

In that time, he has scored a solid 121 goals across 381 games  – a record of a goal every 3.14 appearances.

He’s perhaps best known though for his time with Bournemouth, where has netted nine times in 43 games.

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Leeds weighing up Kieffer Moore approach

Now in his third season at the Vitality Stadium, he appears to have slipped down Andoni Iraola’s pecking order, thanks in the main to the blistering form of Dominic Solanke in attack.

Per our information last month, we exclusively revealed that Bournemouth were ready to sell the 31-year-old with a return to previous club Cardiff a strong possibility.

The Sun confirms a move back to his native Wales looks likely for the 39-times capped star but also reports that Leeds are on standby to disrupt the Bluebirds’ plans by making an approach of their own.

Leeds have both Joel Piroe and Patrick Bamford as central striker options in their squad, with one-time England cap Bamford registering his first goal in nine months over the weekend as Daniel Farke’s side beat Birmingham 3-0.

Summer signing Piroe, meanwhile, has been used by Farke in a deeper No 10 role, with Georginio Rutter pushed further up top. Whites supporters, though, have questioned that logic with the Dutchman seemingly better suited to operating as a No 9. Nonetheless, the £12.9m buy from Swansea has still managed nine goals in 20 appearances for the Whites.

However, it’s claimed Leeds are now looking at Moore as another option to boost their squad. Any move for the 6ft 5in striker would rekindle memories of a previous promotion push at Leeds when, back in January 1990, Howard Wilkinson brought Lee Chapman in from Nottingham Forest and he scored 12 times in 21 games to help get them over the promotion line.

Whether Leeds follow through with their initial interest remains to be seen, though it’s claimed Bournemouth are open to his sale if the right offer comes their way.

Leeds told to resist Crysencio Summerville offers

The biggest battle Leeds may face in the January window, however, remains around the retention of some of their top stars.

To that end, star winger Crysencio Summerville has been strongly linked with a move to the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle.

However, we exclusively revealed on Wednesday that Leeds were taking a strong not-for-sale stance over the Dutch winger amid claims Newcastle were preparing a £30m approach for his services.

Now, Sky Sports pundit and former Leeds midfielder David Prutton has explained why the Whites cannot afford to sell their 12-goal winger if they want to continue their push for promotion.

“There will also be an element of interest in Leeds’ players given attack-wise what we have seen from them, Crysencio Summerville given the interest in him prior to anything really happening this season,” he wrote for the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“If you are Leeds, then you keep half an eye on that and if he goes then you get the right price for him but you fight tooth and nail to keep him.”

Summerville, who cost Leeds a bargain £1.3m from Feyenoord back in September 2020, has 18 goal contributions this season (12 goals and six assists) and is contracted to Elland Road until summer 2026.

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