Why Leeds United would be foolish to sign Leigh Griffiths from Celtic
According to Football Insider (h/t Daily Star), Leeds United have been linked with a shock swoop for out-of-favour Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.
The 29-year-old, who is valued at around £12million by the reigning Scottish champions, has scored 4 times in 19 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions so far this season, largely playing second-fiddle to star man, Odsonne Edouard.
Leeds have been in the market for a new striker since Eddie Nketiah was recalled by Arsenal earlier in the month and Griffiths has now joined the shortlist of potential targets at Elland Road that also features Middlesbrough’s Britt Assombalonga and Southampton’s Che Adams. (h/t Daily Star)
Griffiths, who shot to prominence with Livingston and Dundee in the Scottish second-tier earlier in his career, earned a move to Wolves back in January 2011. However, he struggled to establish himself at Molineux and spent time on loan at Hibernian before sealing a permanent transfer to Celtic back in January 2014.
The Edinburgh-born hitman hasn’t looked back since then and has established himself as a bonafide goalscorer north of the border. Griffiths has plundered an impressive 107 goals and 44 assists in 205 career appearances for Celtic and Hibernian, having already won 6 domestic league titles with the Hoops.
Things, however, have been far from ideal for the former Scottish international over the past couple of seasons, with Griffiths suffering a fall from grace. The 29-year-old took some time out of the game in the previous campaign and has only looked like a shadow of his former self since returning to action.
Griffiths has clocked up a meagre 603 minutes of football for Celtic in all competitions so far this season and while that is largely due to the dominance of Edouard in the playing XI, the Scotsman has also had his fair share of problems with fitness.
Meanwhile, Leeds United are currently in danger of seeing their surge for automatic promotion fall apart after back-to-back league defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and QPR.
The Whites have won only one of their last seven games in the Championship and their sudden slump in form has allowed the likes of Fulham and Brentford to close the gap on the automatic promotion places.
Patrick Bamford, who missed a penalty in the 1-0 loss against QPR at the weekend, extended his goalless streak in the Championship to five games. Bielsa’s undisputed leader of the attack has netted 10 times in the league so far for the Whites but his recent goal drought has coincided with the club’s blip.
Verdict
To that end, Leeds need to prioritize the recruitment of a proven goalscorer in the Championship to take the pressure off Bamford’s shoulders.
However, Griffiths has only gathered dust at Celtic over the past couple of seasons. Bringing in a struggling striker at this stage of the season, especially with automatic promotion on the line, would be a gamble that Leeds United simply can’t afford.
The current situation at Elland Road necessitates the recruitment of a proven game-changer in the Championship but Griffiths doesn’t fit the bill.
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Having said that, Leeds United breaking the bank to sign Leigh Griffiths seems to have the recipe for an unwanted disaster that could spell a sorry end to their surge for automatic promotion.
