Leeds United eyeing transfer for striker who is playing at Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Petar Ratkov has emerged as a possible striker target for Leeds United this summer.

Leeds United are said to be tracking Red Bull Salzburg star Petar Ratkov, according to Journalist Ben Jacobs of Give Me Sport.

The Whites are now planning their next steps for the coming season in the Championship after missing out on promotion to the top-flight, meaning some of their star players will be leaving the club again this summer.

One of the big headaches for the club in the upcoming window will be maximising fees for unwanted players who remain contracted to Leeds, whilst also sourcing replacements for their best players that depart for better opportunities at a higher level in the process.

Another will be to recruit a striker, with Patrick Bamford unreliable in terms of his injury record, and Joel Piroe less-suited to playing as a lone number-nine to lead the attack. It leaves them with the inexperienced Mateo Joseph as the only other alternative.

Having just missed out on automatic promotion, there will remain optimism that the club can be strong again next season, with Championship competition perhaps less fierce at the top end of the division when looking at the teams that have gone up and come down.

However, it will be contingent on how the Whites operate in the market. Leeds fans will remain optimistic that they can rebuild and go again. The Whites are expected to have a strong team again under Daniel Farke.

Leeds' interest in Red Bull Salzburg's Petar Ratkov

Red Bull have provided an extra injection of cash, whilst the sales of some of the loaned-out players should help to fund the team's window this summer, where recruitment decisions will be made all the time.

Farke's side missed a consistent, out-and-out striker as Bamford picked up injuries and was restricted to just 15 league starts all season, which cost Leeds in the key moments when they needed a player with his pedigree to step up.

He was crucial as the focal point and spearhead of the attack, who pulls defenders around, allowing the likes of Georginio Rutter, Willy Gnonto, and Crysencio Summerville to thrive. Without him, Leeds struggled, so it's an obvious area to be looking into.

Jacobs is reporting that Leipzig are tracking the Serbia international with a move to Salzburg’s sister club seen as more likely in the coming years than this summer, opening the door for Leeds to steal a march in the meantime - particularly with their new Red Bull connections.

Ratkov is currently competing with Serbia at the 2024 UEFA European Championship and plenty of Leeds fans will likely be keeping a keen eye on his performances after this transfer update.

The 6'4" striker started his career with TSC in his native Serbia, but certainly fits the bill as a target man given his frame and build.

Leeds' need for a striker

Leeds face a busy summer once again, after last year brought a post-relegation rebuild for Farke. He, Nick Hammond, Gretar Steinsson, Jordan Miles and co. are mow tasked with assembling a squad capable of winning promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking.

Farke now needs to take a ruthless stance on Bamford's future at the club and admit that he is not the man to trust to take them back to the top-flight as the starting striker, as his availability and form is too sporadic for Leeds to pin their hopes on him going forward.

His body keeps letting him down time and again, and he is simply too unreliable for Farke to put his faith in him to lead the line week-in, week-out next season. Ratkov could ease the burden on his shoulders, albeit he is perhaps not the Teemu Pukki-analogue that ideally fits into Farke's system as the starting centre-forward.

Either way, be it Ratkov or someone else, the Whites are in need of a striker who can lead the line this summer.