New club enter pole position over Leeds United, Sunderland and Derby County to sign striker | OneFootball

Peterborough United are looking to complete the signing of AFC Wimbledon’s Ali Al-Hamadi ahead of competition from several Championship clubs including Leeds United and Sunderland.

Ali Al-Hamadi attracting transfer interest

The Iraqi international only joined the League Two side at the start of the year, but he has quickly established himself as one of the top talents in the Football League.

Al-Hamadi scored ten goals in the second half of the previous campaign, and he has matched that total in the first 18 games of this season, as well as registering five assists.

With an impressive physicality making him an all-round threat, it’s perhaps no surprise that the 21-year-old is attracting interest from higher up the leagues.

It has been claimed that Leeds, Sunderland, Blackburn and Derby were all monitoring the player.

Peterborough pushing to sign Ali Al-Hamadi

However, in a fresh update, TEAMtalk has revealed that Hull and Bristol City are also in the race to sign the attacker, but they state that it’s Peterborough who are making the biggest play to sign Al-Hamadi.

“We can now reveal that both Bristol City and Hull City have looked to manoeuvre themselves in the battle – but it is actually Peterborough who are pushing hardest.

“It is understood a deal worth £1.5million is now being lined up and it would represent a club record for The Dons, whose previous record mark came in the last January window when they picked up just over £1m from Qatari club Al Wakrah for Ayoub Assal.”

With Jonson Clarke-Harris out of contract in the summer, the Posh are looking to bring in reinforcements next month, and Al-Hamadi would be a major coup as they look to push for promotion back to the Championship.

Al Al-Hamadi has a big decision to make about his future

It seems as though the striker is going to have a big decision to make about his future, and whilst you would normally expect him to jump at the chance to go to the Championship straight away, he will recognise why Peterborough could be the best next step for him.

The League One side have a brilliant track record when it comes to developing number nines, with Ivan Toney the biggest success story, but there are many others who have done well.

So, Al-Hamadi will know that, and at 21, he doesn’t need to rush into his big move, as if he can fulfil his potential, he will naturally make that step at some point in the years to come.

The appeal of Leeds and Sunderland, in particular, is obvious, but will it really benefit Al-Hamadi if he is sat on the bench for the next few months?

He will back himself to get into the team, but the reality is that opportunities are going to be hard to come by for the youngster at a top Championship club.

Ultimately, it seems inevitable that AFC Wimbledon will cash in on their star man in the January window, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up, as it’s a crucial move in his career.