Why Leeds Should Splash The Chris Wood Money On This £20m Striker Or Risk Facing The Wrath Of The Fans

Why Leeds United Should Try And Sign Watford’s Troy Deeney

Watford striker Troy Deeney has been looking for a move away from Vicarage Road all summer long and preferably to a Premier League club, but could he perhaps be right for Leeds United?

The Elland Road club lost their top scorer Chris Wood to Burnley recently and would do well to directly replace him as soon as possible, even if that means spending big bucks. Should Leeds have any ambitions to get promoted this term, and boss Thomas Christiansen says they do, then they must have a proper goal scorer.

Troy Deeney definitely fits this mould and in fact his consistency has been both a blessing and a curse. After making his real breakthrough in the 2012/13 season at Watford, he went on to score 20, 24 and then 21 league goals in three seasons in the Championship. Despite impressing most observers, this figure drops to 13 and 10 in two Premier League seasons.

The figures show that Deeney is easy to read; not among the highest rank of strikers in the top division but very much one of the best at Championship level. Clubs like Leeds United, even when spending big money, simply have to think short-to-medium term with their signings as these days it is all about getting out of this division come what may. So splashing out on Deeney would be the right thing to do.

It is as close to guaranteed, as a manager would want Deeney to strike 20+ goals in the Championship this season and that could be the sort of return which could see Leeds get promoted. More to the point, going into the rest of the campaign without such a player pretty much puts paid to their hopes of a top two place and even makes their play-off chances look slim.

Last season, the likes of Glenn Murray at Brighton and Dwight Gayle at Newcastle proved to be absolutely crucial in getting their teams promoted, while it’s thought that Bristol City could have been relegated without the contribution of Tammy Abraham up front.

It’s a simple formula, an expensive formula but a winning formula nonetheless, that every team needs a prolific striker if they are to achieve their ambitions.

Yes, this would be an expensive deal for Leeds, but they MUST reinvest the Wood money on a player like Deeney, or risk not only missing out on promotion yet again but also risk the wrath of the fans once again.