Monday could be the day. Leeds United can secure their promotion to the Premier League if results go their way in the Championship on Easter Monday.
The Whites host Stoke City at Elland Road and know that if they pick up all three points against the Potters, then they have the chance to officially claim their place in the top-flight.
However, they will need Burnley to do them a favour in their clash with Sheffield United. Anything other than a Blades win will mean that Leeds are promoted by beating Stoke.
Daniel Farke must ensure that there is no complacency in his squad ahead of this game, with all the talk about a possible promotion being secured, and the performance against Oxford United last time out suggests that will not be a problem, as they battled hard to secure that victory.
Despite the players and the coaching staff being laser-focused on getting results in the here and now, the board are reportedly already looking at potential signings ahead of the summer transfer window.
Leeds are looking ahead to how their squad could look for a Premier League campaign, and one player who has been linked with a move to Elland Road is Angus Gunn.
Why Leeds should not sign Angus Gunn
Football Insider recently reported that the West Yorkshire outfit are ‘readying’ a move to sign the Scotland international to bolster their goalkeeping ranks.
The outlet claimed that Gunn has not been offered a new contract by Norwich City and is set to become a free agent, which has seemingly alerted Leeds.
It stated that the Whites are set to be in the market to find a replacement for Illan Meslier, who has recently been dropped in favour of Karl Darlow, and that the Canaries shot-stopper is one target that they have identified.
Leeds, however, should avoid a move for Gunn if they are looking to find a new number one for a Premier League campaign, because his form has tailed off at Championship level.
The Norwich-born stopper prevented 4.55 goals (xG) in 40 appearances in the second tier in the 2023/24 campaign, showing that he significantly outperformed as a shot-stopper, but that has shot down to a staggeringly low -6.40 goals prevented this season under Johannes Hoff Thorup.
Angus Gunn
Norwich City
-6.40
Ethan Horvath
Cardiff City
-6.21
Bradley Collins
Coventry City
-5.99
Seny Dieng
Middlesbrough
-4.49
James Beadle
Sheffield Wednesday
-3.94
George Long
Norwich City
-3.71
Thomas Kaminski
Luton Town
-3.51
Freddie Woodman
Preston North End
-3.48
George Evans
Millwall
-2.77
Illan Meslier
Leeds
-2.73
As you can see in the table above, no goalkeeper has underperformed as a shot-stopper as badly as Gunn has, with Meslier also sneaking into the top ten worst players in the division in that particular statistic.
This is why Leeds should avoid the Norwich dud, whose form has not been good enough in the second tier, and they are now reportedly eyeing another goalkeeper who would be an even better signing.
Leeds plot bid for Premier League stopper
According to The Sun on Sunday’s print edition (20 April, page 57), as relayed by MOT Leeds News, the Whites are ‘plotting’ a bid to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers outcast Sam Johnstone.
The report claims that Leeds are eyeing up a £10m bid to sign the England international in the upcoming summer transfer window, as they continue to eye possible replacements for Meslier between the sticks.
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Johnstone has only played seven times in the Premier League for the Old Gold so far this season, but it remains to be seen whether or not Wolves would be willing to cash in on him for a fee of £10m.
He is currently behind Portuguese colossus Jose Sa in the pecking order under Vitor Pereira and Leeds could take advantage of that to bring him to Elland Road ahead of next season.
The Whites must, now, push to get a deal over the line for the English stopper because he could come in as a much better signing than Gunn would be this summer.
Why Leeds should sign Sam Johnstone
Getting in players with Premier League experience could be vital for Leeds because they are players who know the division, know what it takes to win matches, and will not be surprised by anything that comes their way throughout the season.
Johnstone has played 73 times in the top-flight for West Brom, Crystal Palace, and Wolves, whilst he was also on the books at Manchester United at the start of his career. Whereas, Gunn has only made 31 appearances in the Premier League for Southampton and Norwich combined.
The English titan has earned himself moves to three different Premier League sides, joining the Baggies, Palace, and Wolves, whilst Meslier has failed to earn a transfer back to the Premier League, and Gunn has been at Norwich since their relegation in the summer of 2022.
This suggests that top-flight teams value Johnstone’s quality and experience at that level. His statistics back up his status in comparison to Gunn and Meslier, as he has performed far more impressively in the division.
Appearances
107
31
73
Goals conceded
198
65
128
Goals conceded per game
1.85
2.09
1.75
Clean sheets
21
6
15
Post-shot xG minus goals conceded
-32.0
-18.1
-11.8
As you can see in the table above, Johnstone has not underperformed as badly as Gunn or Meslier in the Premier League as a shot-stopper, and has conceded fewer goals per game on average than both of them.
The England international, who was once hailed for an “unbelievable” save by Gary Lineker, also made his top-flight debut for Palace against Leeds and showcased his quality in that game, as shown in the highlights below.
Johnstone is an experienced and proven performer in the top division and could be a shrewd addition to the Leeds squad for a fee of £10m this summer, if they are promoted to the Premier League.
Gunn, on the other hand, has performed significantly worse in the top-flight during his career and is currently the worst-performing goalkeeper, as a shot-stopper, in the Championship.
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It is now down to the club to ensure that they can convince Wolves to part ways with the English colossus this summer in order to bolster their goalkeeping ranks.