Daniel Farke And Co Have Decided To Act Quickly And Decision Have Been Made

Leeds United are lining up a deal for former Nottingham Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, according to reports. With Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev facing lengthy spells on the sidelines through injury, it appears Daniel Farke and Co have decided to act quickly and bring in reinforcements.

The transfer window closed on September 1, of course, but Kouyate is a free agent, having left Forest over the summer. That means he is able to sign for Leeds outside of the usual trading period. Reports suggest he will sign a deal until the end of the season, with an option of a further 12 months.

Kouyate is now 34 but will bring with him a wealth of experience, having played for Forest, Crystal Palace and West Ham United in the Premier League. He has been capped 92 times for Senegal, having made his name playing for Anderlecht in Belgium. He has never played at Championship level, but has won plenty of praise throughout his career.

Farke has Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell available as central midfield options, but admitted recently that the club would look a free agent options following Ampadu and Gruev’s injuries.

“We will first wait and see on Ilia and see,” Farke said earlier this month. “It is professional of us to check who is available and what we could do, but to be honest I am not a big fan of signing people out of contract when you get to October. They have been out fo training for months, so it may take them a while to get up to speed and a player who is injured could be back before the new signing is ready.

“It can be a panic signing. It is professional to check to see if there is someone who suits the needs, but I am not a big believer of it. But let’s see. First we wait and hope for the outcome of Ilia Gruev. Sometimes though it could be bad for the whole group. It can send a sign to other players we don’t trust them.”

However, it looks as though Leeds have identified Kouyate as a player who could fill that gap and, should a deal go through, he could be part of the squad to face Sheffield United on Friday night.