Leeds United were very active in the January transfer window as they looked for striker support for Patrick Bamford. Eddie Nketiah had been recalled by Arsenal due to inactivity and the Whites had been knocked back by Southampton in their pursuit of Che Adams. They eventually plumped for Jean-Kevin Augustin. In conversation with Finnish publication Helsingin Sanomat, Beyer Leverkusen striker Joel Pohjanpalo said it could easily have been Leeds United he ended up at.
Pohjanpalo is a 25-year-old Finnish striker who made his entry into German football from his native Finland with Beyer Leverkusen. He also featured for German sides VfR Aalen and Fortuna Dusseldorf whilst on loan.
The youngster, whose current deal runs out at the end of this month with Bundesliga side Leverkusen, is currently on loan in Germany’s second-tier competition. He left Leverkusen to join SV Hamburg at the end of January in what was to be a half-season loan arrangement.
The Finn has scored wherever he has gone and said that had he not stayed in Germany with SV Hamburg that “another strong option was Leeds United in the English Championship.” Perhaps one thing putting him off accepting a move to the Whites was that he wanted a club where “it would be possible for the attacker to realize himself.”
That wouldn’t have come at Elland Road, Pohjanpalo would have always found himself behind Patrick Bamford when it came to Marcelo Bielsa’s thinking. However, when comparing Augustin’s time at Elland Road and Pohjanpalo’s time at SV Hamburg, you are looking at chalk and cheese.
Augustin has made three substitute appearances totalling just 48 minutes since arriving in West Yorkshire. In comparison, the flying Finn has 8 goals in 11 games for Hamburg – these goals coming at the rate of one every 81 minutes of action. He’s got six in his last six games, scoring 5 in his last four appearances.
