How Leeds can find their next Noah Okafor in “incredible” transfer target

Leeds United progressed through to the next round of the League Cup with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night.

The Whites have kicked off their campaign with successive wins against the Tricky Trees in front of their own supporters, having also beaten them 1-0 in the Premier League last weekend.

Daniel James opened the scoring for Daniel Farke‘s side in the cup win over Oliver Glasner’s team, finding the left corner after breaking into the box.

It was his first competitive goal for the club since he netted the winner against Middlesbrough at the Riverside in the Championship in April 2025 during the title-winning campaign.

Why Leeds need to replace Daniel James

Despite scoring against Forest, James should be replaced before the end of the summer transfer window to ensure that Leeds have enough goals coming from their wide positions.

The Wales international has yet to prove that he can be a consistent performer in front of goal for the Whites, as evidenced by the fact that his strike on Tuesday was his first goal for the club in more than a year.

Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough

James ended the 2025/26 campaign with a return of zero goals and zero assists in 21 appearances in all competitions for the West Yorkshire outfit, which justified the club’s decision to bring in Noah Okafor.

The Switzerland international joined on a permanent deal from AC Milan to bolster Farke’s options at the top end of the pitch, and ended the season with eight goals in the Premier League.

Okafor provided the kind of threat that James failed to offer from a wide role in the top-flight, but now the Whites need a player who can compete with the Swiss star.

How Leeds can land their next Noah Okafor

Now, the club are said to be looking at a player who could arrive as an upgrade on James and as their next version of Okafor at Elland Road this season.

According to OnTheMinute, Leeds United are one of the teams in the race to sign Independiente del Valle attacker Emerson Pata before the end of the summer transfer window, as the 49ers eye up further recruits for Farke.

The report claims that they have recently been joined by German side Bayer Leverkusen in the race to land the 22-year-old attacker before next week’s deadline.

It adds that Ipswich Town and Sunderland are also keeping tabs on the attacker’s situation, but none of the interested parties have made a formal approach for his services yet.

REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

The Whites should formalise their interest with talks and an offer for the young winger before the window slams shut, as he could arrive as Farke’s next version of Okafor.

Like the Switzerland international, Pata, hailed as “incredible” by Diego Ordinola, is a versatile right-footed forward who is capable of playing on the left, through the middle, or on the right, but favours playing on the left.

Since the start of the 2026 campaign, the Ecuadorian attacker has racked up 15 goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in his 24 appearances in the Serie A, which shows that he can provide a consistent attacking threat.

His return of eight goals in 19 starts suggests that the potential is there for him to offer an Okafor-esque threat as a goalscorer, after the Swiss ace scored eight goals in the Premier League last term.

The former Milan winger’s goalscoring exploits were particularly impactful for Leeds because of the lack of goals from other players in that area of the park, as James and Wilfried both failed to score any goals in the Premier League last term.

Pata, however, could come in and be Farke’s next version of Okafor by delivering goals on a semi-regular basis from a wide position, providing Dominic Calvert-Lewin with more support in the final third.

Therefore, the Whites should be looking to bring the Ecuadorian winger to Elland Road before the end of the window to ensure that the manager has enough firepower in his squad, particularly given James’ struggles in the last year or so.