Leeds close to sealing £2m cut-price striker signing - report
By Harry Sykes
Leeds United are close to signing Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga on a loan-to-buy deal worth nearly £2million, according to a report.
The Daily Star claim the Championship promotion hopefuls are closing in on the capture of the German forward.
It is said that Leeds hope to take Lasogga, 25, on an initial loan with an option to buy at the end of the season for £1.8million.
The Daily Star report that this represents a cut-price deal for a player with a fine track record in the Bundesliga and who has represented Germany at Under-21s level.
It has been widely stated that Hamburg want to offload Lasogga as they look to slash their wage bill before the transfer window shuts.
Intriguingly, social media pictures showed the German sat with the United squad earlier on Saturday as they relaxed with their families at the Clayton Hotel in Leeds city centre ahead of their goalless draw against Preston at Elland Road.
Wood led the line but could not add to his strike in the team's opening-day 3-2 win at Bolton Wanderers.
The possible signing of Lasogga comes after Marcus Antonsson joined League One outfit Blackburn Rovers on Friday on a season-long loan.
Lasosgga was omitted from the Hamburg squad for Sunday’s German Cup defeat against Osnabruck and is now said to be the club's fifth-choice striker.
He scored only one league goal last season, and just two from 22 matches in all competitions, but has accumulated an impressive 30 goals in 107 Hamburg games.
Meanwhile, Leeds are fending off immense interest in Wood, who topped the Championship goal charts last season.
Football Insider verdict:
Leeds are having their cake and eating it with this deal, should it be signed and sealed. It would enable them to have Lasogga in their squad for a season and assess whether he is worthy of a fee that even the penny-pinching Yorkshire club would consider to be reasonable. A horrible 2016-17 apart, the German has an eye-catching track record, especially when the quality of the Bundesliga is taken into account. Should he live up to his reputation, the 25-year-old could prove to be an absolute bargain.
In other Leeds United news, Football Insider can exclusively reveal that three Premier League clubs have tabled formal bids for Wood.
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