According to the Birmingham Mail, Leeds United look set to miss out on the signature of Deportivo Alaves winger Ibai Gomez during this transfer window, with it being thought that the Wideman is close to sealing a move worth £2.5 million to his former employers, Athletic Bilbao.
Leeds United are lacking in the wide areas, with Pablo Hernandez moving from out on the wings into a more central, playmaking role to fill the gap that Samu Saiz has left in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad – since moving to La Liga side, Getafe.
Gomez played under Marcelo Bielsa during his time in charge of Athletic Bilbao – in which he led the Spanish side into the Europa League final. Bilbao lost the final to their Spanish rivals, Athletico Madrid.
The winger enjoyed a great period of football under Bielsa at Bilbao, and rumours had begun to surface that the West-Yorkshire side were to make a move for the winger – following a failed attempt during the summer.
It’s thought though that Gomez’s former employers are leading the way to securing his signature, which would put Leeds United under significant pressure if they were to try and make a late attempt to hijack any potential deal.
Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has stated though, that he’s unsure how many transfer targets he will bring in during this transfer window.
The Argentinian manager said to LeedsLive:
“I don’t think that many players will come in.”
There’s still a sizeable portion of the transfer window left, so Whites fans shouldn’t worry yet. The Championship leaders could still get plenty of business done over the forthcoming weeks – and if they could prise Gomez away from top-four La Liga side Deportivo Alaves, he’d be a brilliant coup.
