How Leeds can seal their best signing since Raphinha for £21m

Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has been backed by the club in the summer transfer window since leading the team to a 14th place finish in the Premier League.

The German boss made it clear at the end of last season that he would not be interested in staying in the job unless the ambition was to kick on and look beyond just avoiding relegation.

Deals to sign Tarik Muharemovic for £34m from Sassuolo and James Trafford for £40m from Manchester City show that the 49ers are prepared to spend serious money to push the team forward.

However, there is still more work to be done between now and the end of the window if the Whites want to be genuine contenders to qualify for a European competition.

How Leeds United can become European contenders

After spending significant money to bolster the defence, the West Yorkshire outfit need to look at the top end of the pitch for reinforcements to build a side capable of challenging for the top eight.

Leeds have been impressive in recent pre-season outings, beating Liverpool 4-2 and RB Leipzig 2-0, but it remains to be seen how effective they will be offensively when the real stuff begins.

Harry Wilson has been brought in on a free transfer to play on the right flank after scoring ten goals and providing seven assists in the Premier League for Fulham last term, and he is a welcome addition to the attack.

The Whites need to add more players, like Wilson, who can win matches with a moment of quality, as they had with Raphinha when they last finished in the top-half of the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa in the 2020/21 campaign.

He produced goals and assists on a regular basis from the flank for Leeds to help them both avoid relegation and kick on into the top-half, and the recruitment team need to find stars who can be as effective as he was.

Leeds made offer to land their best signing since Raphinha

The club are now looking at a player who could be their best signing since they brought in Raphinha, who was subsequently sold for a club-record fee of £55m to Barcelona in 2022.

According to Voetbal International, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign Feyenoord centre-forward Ayase Ueda, who is said to be valued at around £21m.

The report claims that the Whites and Brighton & Hove Albion have already had offers turned down by the Dutch side, who have now received a bid from Fenerbahce.

It adds, though, that the Japan international would prefer to make a move to the Premier League, which gives Leeds and Brighton the edge over the Turkish giants as they remain in the race to secure his services.

The Whites must push to beat their Premier League rivals and Fenerbahce to his signature, because the forward could be their best signing since Raphinha.

No Leeds player has reached double figures for goals and ‘big chances’ created in the top-flight since the Brazilian recorded 11 goals and ten ‘big chances’ created in his last season at Elland Road, but Ueda’s form for Feyenoord shows that he has the potential to do so.

The Japanese marksman could arrive in West Yorkshire as Farke’s best option in the centre-forward position, given how significantly he outperformed Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a goalscorer at league level in the 2025/26 campaign.

Ueda racked up 27 goals and ‘big chances’ created in the Dutch top-flight last term, and no Leeds player has managed more than 23 goals and assists combined in the Premier League since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink produced 18 goals and 13 assists in 1999.

Whilst he is unproven in the Premier League, the £21m-rated marksman has the potential to be an elite goalscorer for the Whites if he can transfer his goalscoring prowess over to English football.

His exceptional form for Feyenoord, scoring 26 goals in 38 games, shows that he could be the club’s best signing since Raphinha, given the impact that he could have as a difference-maker in the final third.

Ueda, who previously scored 22 goals in 40 Pro League matches for Cercle Brugge in the 2022/23 campaign, is a prolific goalscorer who could play a huge role in leading Leeds into the top-half and into the European places.

Therefore, the 49ers should go in with another bid for the striker in an attempt to secure the club their best signing since Raphinha was brought in from Rennes in 2020, as he could have a similarly impressive impact at the top end of the pitch.