Surprise reports emerged on deadline day that Leeds United had a mammoth bid accepted for a Croatian player, and he has just laid on his fifth assist in six games over the weekend.
It came out of nowhere that Leeds had seen a £25m bid accepted for Dinamo Zagreb’s Croatia star Martin Baturina. Leeds of course were in the market for a no.10, but there had been no prior reports on Baturina.
At just 21, Baturina has starred in Croatian football after coming through the ranks at Dinamo. Prior to this season, he had a hand in 43 goals in 120 games, earning him a breakthrough into Croatia’s squad.
Leeds had tried to sign Gustavo Hamer from Sheffield United, while Roland Sallai of Freiburg was strongly linked too. But nothing materialised and Croatian reports said Leeds had bid a huge £25m for Baturina.
Baturina’s incredible form continues after reported Leeds bid
Whether or not those reports were true remains to be seen. But the offer from Yorkshire is said to have been accepted on deadline day, though a move was scuppered by Baturina himself, rejecting a transfer.
Leeds did manage to get Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt through the door on deadline day but did not manage to address the lack of depth at no.10, with Brenden Aaronson the only natural no.10 option.
The transfer window slammed shut on Friday night and Baturina took to the field on Sunday, during a 1-1 draw with Rijeka in which he laid on another assist. Already, this season, he has five assists in six games.
Leeds still lacking that no.10 to unlock Championship defences
Despite failing to score on Saturday, USA star Brenden Aaronson remains Leeds’ top scorer with two goals this season. He has shown quality in glimpses as he looks to win back the admiration of Leeds supporters.
Wilfried Gnonto has come inside in recent games, while Joel Piroe came off the bench as a no.10 to score against Hull on Saturday. Joe Rothwell who is better as a deeper midfielder, was an unused substitute.
But there are doubts about the options Leeds have in the 10 role, and even Daniel Farke admitted it was a position he wanted to address on the final day. Instead, Leeds must wait until at least January to sign a 10.
