Football League World
·31 October 2024
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·31 October 2024
Carlton Palmer spoke exclusively to Football League World about Leeds United's interest in teenage wonderkid Bazoumana Toure
Pundit and former England international Carlton Palmer has referenced Crysencio Summerville's success as a key reason as to why he believes Leeds United should complete the ambitious signing of 18-year-old wonderkid Bazoumana Toure, who has earned recent interest throughout the Premier League.
Summerville undoubtedly serves as an exemplary case study for the strategy of recruiting young players at a low cost and patiently developing them across a number of seasons, having made an indelible impact during his final campaign at Elland Road.
The Dutch winger was signed from Feyenoord back in September 2020 for just £1.3 million but eventually blossomed into a star for Leeds, and he shone so very brightly as they fell just short of returning to the Premier League at the very first time of asking last season.
Summerville was named as the Championship's Player of the Year following a stellar individual campaign which saw him record 20 league strikes alongside a further nine assists, promptly earning his move back to the promised land with West Ham United for an initial reported fee of £25 million.
Leeds were ultimately powerless to prevent his departure after failing in their bid to reclaim their top-flight status and entering the second year of parachute payments, but they now appear to be on the hunt for the next Summerville.
According to a recent report from TBR Football, Leeds are among a number of clubs keeping tabs on Hammarby's 18-year-old prodigy Bazoumana Toure, who has emerged as the hottest property in Swedish football after joining the Allsvenskan outfit from his native Ivory Coast back in March.
The report exclusively claims that up to a dozen British clubs attended Hammarby's most recent outing at Sirius, where Toure bagged a brace to take his tally up to eight for the season.
As per the report, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Spurs, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brighton, and Wolves were all among the Premier League representatives spotted in Sweden to take a closer look at Toure, while the likes of Celtic and Sheffield United also accompanied Leeds on their scouting mission.
Toure, who is reportedly valued at £5 million, is said to have also been tracked by both Arsenal and Manchester United according to a previous claim by The Mirror.
It's not yet clear just how likely Leeds' chances are of being able to financially compete with top Premier League clubs along with simply being able to convince the winger to make the move to the Championship as opposed to the top-flight.
Palmer believes Summerville's trajectory is a sure-fire driving force behind Leeds' interest, stating that Leeds' top-brass will doubtless be wanting to emulate the success of the Dutchman with another young winger sniped from the continent.
With Toure's much-courted talent in mind, Palmer exclusively told Football League World just how good of a signing he would represent for Leeds - should they look to further advance their reported interest, of course.
"Leeds United are looking for reinforcements for the second-half of the season, when they will hope to push on and gain promotion back to the Premier League," Palmer explained to Football League World.
"They have joined the race for 18-year-old winger Bazoumana Toure. Obviously you look at the way Summerville has risen, this could convince the Elland Road hierarchy that he could go on and do the same.
"He's playing at Swedish side Hammarby and it's reported that a dozen British club scouts were in attendance when they travelled to Sirius on Saturday, and they would've liked what they saw. He scored twice and registered an assist to help his side to a comfortable 3-0 win.
"He has a deal with the Swedish outfit until 2028, so the club are in a very strong position in terms of how much money they can ask for him.
"There were a lot of scouts there - Leeds, Sheffield United, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham, West Ham, Crystal Palace are all looking at the player.
"The fee is going to be around £5 million, I don't believe they'll stand in his way if the right offer comes in. I think it could be a very, very good signing for Leeds.
"Given his age, I think it would be a great move for him to go somewhere like Leeds because if he goes to the Premier League, he's not going to play and he's playing regularly at the moment.
"Apparently they'll let him go for £5 million, so that's a bargain for anybody to go and get this player.
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