How is Leeds United summer target Roland Sallai getting on after Elland Road transfer miss? | OneFootball

Roland Sallai joined Galatasaray from Freiburg in the summer, despite strong interest from Leeds United.

Leeds United had a summer interest in Roland Sallai but the versatile SC Freiburg forward moved to Galatasaray instead after the English transfer window closed.

After initially being rebuffed by the Bundesliga club, Graham Smyth of The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed via his newsletter that Sallai re-emerged as a target, explaining how the 27-year-old was a player the club liked, and he remained firmly among the ‘list’ of players that the Leeds recruitment team were drawing up as they looked to get a few deals done late on in the window.

The player was even said to be keen on a move to Leeds this summer, according to Sacha Tovolieri, but nothing materialised in the end, and it looked as though Sallai may remain with the Bundesliga outfit until at least January following the closure of many of the transfer windows around Europe's major leagues.

Sallai had entered the final year of his contract with Freiburg, though. That meant that they were keen to cash in as opposed to losing him on a free transfer in less than 12 months, and Galatasaray were the side to secure his services on a four-year deal.

Galatasaray sign Leeds target Roland Sallai

Sallai was always likely to be an ambitious move, meaning that the signing would have represented outstanding pedigree and pulling power shown by the Whites, given his obvious proven quality. However, they could not compete with a team that will be competing for titles this year, as well as playing in the new format of the UEFA Europa League against the likes of Tottenham and Ajax.

He would have undoubtedly improved Leeds' squad after they faced a second squad exodus in as many summers, with forwards needed to replace key players such as Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter. He has the positional versatility to operate as a striker in a two, as an attacking midfielder, or off either flank.

Not only that, but he has scored goals and collected assists wherever he has been deployed and for plenty of different teams, including his national team. Sallai is among Hungary's best performing players consistently.

On 13 September, due to the Turkish top-flight's transfer window remaining open, he completed a move to Galatasaray, where competing in European football was always a priority for Sallai after he could not be convinced of dropping down to the Championship.

Fabrizio Romano revealed that Sallai would only cost around €6 million. It was a blow for Leeds if they saw Sallai as a long-term target and a potential option in the January transfer window, but he instead joined their rivals.

They have been one of Leeds' rivals ever since a UEFA Cup semi-final clash between the sides back in April 2000 when two supporters of the West Yorkshire side, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, lost their lives following a knife attack.

Sallai’s debut for his new side came in one of the biggest games in their fixture list this season, with Galatasaray beating their great rivals Fenerbahce 3-1 away from home. He came off the bench with 15 minutes to go but did not register any goal involvements. He was then given a start against Kasimpasa where he was hooked off at half-time during a 3-3 draw.

He also failed to contribute to a goal and was subsequently benched against Alanyaspor, and only appearing late on in the match with 25 minutes to spare. They are his only three appearances thus far. He has, unsurprisingly, been deployed in a few different positions already, though. He is competing with the likes of Dries Mertens and Baris Yilmaz for a starting berth, with both being key players for Galatasaray.

Sallai has played off the right or just behind the striker in their 4-2-3-1 set up. However, somewhat ironically, due to the timing of his arrival at his new club, he was unable to be registered as part of their Europa League squad during the first half of the campaign.

One of the reasons he signed was to compete in European competitions, but he will therefore be unable to play for the Turkish outfit until the second half of the season from February onwards. In the meantime, he is one of the pieces of a stacked forward line, which includes Victor Osimhen, Mauro Icardi, and Michy Batshuayi.

Per FotMob, he has averaged 6.2, 6.1, and 6.3 ratings in his first league appearances, whereas he is faring far better for the national team, with a goal against the Netherlands and match ratings of 7.6 and 7.1 in the most recent international break.

It is entirely possible that he could have played more frequently for Leeds. Although the Whites are not struggling without him as they managed to save face by bringing in Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon in the closing stages of the window. Brenden Aaronson is also in the mix as a returning player from loan, giving Leeds multiple options in attack again this year.

Despite losing Rutter and Summerville, they look strong in the forward department, even if Leeds still lack an out-and-out No.10 with a line-breaking creative passing ability. They have creativity now from the likes of Solomon, Ramazani, Aaronson, and Willy Gnonto, but perhaps not to the same level as what Sallai could have provided in West Yorkshire.