Leeds United should rival Coventry City and Stoke City for midfielder: View | OneFootball

Leeds United need a new midfielder this summer and could beat both Stoke City and Coventry City to Alvyn Sanches.

Highlights

Leeds United lack depth and quality in the 'number eight' position following the departures of Glen Kamara and Archie Gray, but the Whites should look to beat Coventry City and Stoke City to the punch with Alvyn Sanches.

Kamara leaves with big boots to fill. There is no doubt that he will be a loss from the squad after he started 33 of the 37 league games he featured in, which meant that he played more minutes in the heart of Leeds' midfield than any other player in the squad.

Not only that, but his performances were crucial in a number of big games last year, including the semi-final of the play-offs against Norwich City and the 3-1 victory over Leicester City in February. However, a 28-year-old being sold for serious profit is hard to deny as good business for Leeds, despite how crucial the Finn was at times last year for Farke and co.

His press-resistance, composure, and ball retention were all key features of his game, whilst his durability and duel-winning allowed Leeds to pin the opposition in their half at times, even if his ball-striking and general output in goal and assist terms left much to be desired.

Gray, meanwhile, is a generational midfield talent lost. He played the majority of his football at right-back last season, but his long-term future was as an 'eight', and Leeds need to replace him with more than just Joe Rothwell.

Leeds secured the loan signing of Rothwell from AFC Bournemouth last week. The 29-year-old loanee will bring more goals to Farke's team from the middle of the park, but another player in the box-to-box role with serious output could help make Leeds an even more impressive team from midfield next year.

Championship interest has emerged in Alvyn Sanches

Stoke City and Coventry City are both reportedly interested in signing midfielder Sanches from Swiss side Lausanne-Sport in the summer transfer window.

That's according to a report from The Express, which claims that a number of clubs from across Europe are now keen on the 21-year-old. Sanches came through the youth ranks with Lausanne-Sport and has now become a regular at senior level for the Swiss top-flight side.

In total, the French-born Swiss youth international has so far made 84 senior appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and providing seven assists in that time. He has been capped multiple times at youth level for the Swiss, too. However, how attainable he is to second tier sides is unknown, given his pedigree and ability at such a young age.

The 21-year-old has attracted interest from Scottish giants Celtic, who are thought to have sent scouts to watch Sanches over the course of last season, as they consider a potential move. As per the latest update, both Stoke and Coventry have been monitoring Sanches' situation recently, with a view to a potential move.

Meanwhile, clubs in Germany, France, and the Netherlands are all also said to have been monitoring the midfielder in the lead-up to the summer. Fortunately, there are just two years remaining on Sanches' contract with Lausanne-Sport, securing his future with the club until the end of the 2025/26 season.

Alvyn Sanches would bring more attacking dynamism to Leeds United midfield

Sanches is primarily a box-to-box midfielder with plenty of attacking thrust and impetus, but has been utilised as a right-sided winger at times, as well as an attacking midfielder as well. However, he brings the output Leeds need to replace a player like Kamara this summer, with his two-footed nature and box-crashing allowing him to score plenty in and around the penalty area.

One of Leeds' biggest issues last season was regarding the number of goals scored by midfielders. There were just three goals scored between Leeds' pivot players in Ilia Gruev, Ethan Ampadu, Gray, and Kamara across all competitions.

A player who is capable of playing deeper but with good distance shooting and ball-striking to spread the goals around the team further must be high on the club's priorities, to help ease the burden on their attacking talent.

It does appear as though the addition of a profile like Sanches' could be a useful move for one of these Championship teams if they can get it done in that sense. The Swiss midfielder has amassed some considerable senior experience for someone of his age, so he may well be ready to make this move as he looks for the next step in his career.

He has also shown in the past couple of seasons that he is capable of getting on the scoresheet and having a midfielder who can do that is a bonus for a Leeds side gunning for the Championship title, and perhaps needing a wider spread of both goals and assists throughout their team.

However, at 21 years old, there is time still for him to develop, adapt and improve further, which could see him become a more valuable player, by retaining resale value that they could make a profit on in the future. Sanches would be able to have an immediate impact in terms of his dribbling and ball-carrying - akin to Kamara, whilst being a more versatile attacking presence.

Despite playing as a winger or attacking midfielder at times in his early career, the exciting youngster tended to find himself deployed in a deeper role for the most part during the season, which is where the Whites need more direct goal output from themselves.

Rothwell should be a shrewd loan signing, but given his profile and likely cost in the last year of his deal, it's a no-brainer for Leeds to look into signing Sanches from under Coventry and Stoke's noses this summer to compete with the Englishman in the No.8 role of Farke's midfield base.

The only question mark regarding Sanches is his defensive impact. His athleticism will help in many ways, but he is neither as physical nor as combative as Kamara or Gray. If he can adapt to the rigours of Championship football, then he could be a long-term upgrade on Kamara in Leeds' engine room.