When Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City visit town on New Year’s Day, Leeds United will be hoping to put two straight losses behind them with a significant win. The Whites have been struggling recently in the Championship, even after defeating Ipswich Town 4-0 just before Christmas.
Daniel Farke’s team will be hoping that 2024 will be the year the West Yorkshire club makes an instant return to the Premier League, putting together a run of results that gets them into the running for the top two spots in the second division and culminates with promotion glory.
To aid his team in their pursuit of such a coveted final objective, the German manager under pressure at Elland Road may very well try to bring in some new players in January. Farke has his eye on one forward in particular.
When the transfer market reopens, Leeds may be able to snap up David Brooks, the AFC Bournemouth winger who was once considered a high talent in the Championship.
Leeds transfer news: David Brooks talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook recently confirmed Leeds’ interest in the forward for the Cherries on social media, saying the Championship team was eager to recruit the 26-year-old for a loan that would last until the end of the season. It has been reported by Crook that Southampton, a second-tier competitor, is also considering a transfer of the Bournemouth forward, so Leeds won’t be the only team pursuing him.
This isn’t the first time the West Yorkshire titans have reportedly been interested in Brooks, the dangerous Wales international was once on Marcelo Bielsa’s shopping list at Elland Road allegedly with former Leeds footballer Danny Mills revealing to Football Insider in 2020 that the Bournemouth player’s style and ability on the ball made him very much a “Bielsa-type player.”
Farke will hope that the allure of Leeds in the present is enough for Brooks to make the switch to the Championship for the second half of the campaign, with Brooks potentially slotting in and becoming a dream partner in attack for Georginio Rutter in Leeds’ frightening forward places.
The playwriting style of Brooks
If Brooks joined this January, he would be a wonderful fit for Leeds’ aggressive philosophy and would increase competition within the ranks.
In the next months, when things got tight, the 26-year-old would give Daniel James and other players at Elland Road a serious fight for their money. He was an easy player to watch, gliding around the pitch with a killer finish in his repertoire.
He might also be able to defeat Rutter, who has occasionally filled in as a second striker for the Cherries and his former team, Sheffield United, providing dangerous opportunities to the lone forward choice.
The dynamic 26-year-old played in that capacity for Bournemouth and the Blades in the second division, picking up six assists and scoring three goals on his own. Leeds was interested in signing him, and he thrived there for the South Coast team and United before navigating rough waters to advance to the Premier League.
The Whites’ ability to shift from playing down the flanks to through the center could prove to be vital, as Brooks could match up with players like Joel Piroe and knock them out of the starting lineup in the event that the Dutchman or any other player occupying that position saw a decline in form.
While in the height of his abilities, Brooks was even being lined up for a big-time financial transfer from the Vitality Stadium to a Premier League team higher up, with rumors circulating that Aston Villa was interested in the shrewd attacker back in 2021.
The former Villa player and current football pundit Lee Hendrie was excited about this possible trade. He told Football FanCast at the time about Brooks’ playing and the “bags of ability” the 5 foot 8 Cherries man possessed that intrigued him.
In order to help his club maintain a fight for promotion and avoid crumbling under extreme strain, Farke will want to add depth to the squad in January. Brooks is the perfect acquisition to do this without going over budget and possibly even improving Rutter in the process.
