Who is Willem Geubbels? The star wanted by West Brom, Norwich City and Leeds United | OneFootball

FLW outline all you need to know about Willem Geubbels of FC St. Gallen amid interest from West Brom, Norwich City, and Leeds United.

Numerous Championship sides are said to be tracking St. Gallen striker Willem Geubbels, with West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City, and Leeds United eyeing a loan deal.

Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas revealed Leeds are one of three named Championship clubs that are keen on signing Geubbels. Also named in the report are Norwich as well as West Brom — both are also dealing with injury issues for their starting strikers, Josh Sargent and Josh Maja respectively.

But just who is the French forward? We take a look at everything you need to know, here.

Willem Geubbels background and profile

Geubbels was born in Villeurbanne, France to a Dutch father and a Central African Republic mother on August 16, 2001. The now 23-year-old started his playing career at Lyon's academy from the age of nine.

There was plenty of excitement regarding Geubbels, who made waves in French football from a young age. Geubbels joined Lyon's academy and debuted within seven years of that time for the first-team at just 16.

He made his debut in September 2017 during a 3-3 home draw against Dijon in Ligue 1. He entered the action after 84 minutes, replacing Lucas Tousart. In doing so, Geubbels became the first player born in the 21st century to appear in Ligue 1, as well as the fifth-youngest player ever to make a Ligue 1 debut at 16 years, one month and seven days old.

He followed that up shortly after when, in December, Geubbels came on for an injured Maxwel Cornet in the 45th minute of a 1-0 away loss to Atalanta in the Europa League. Geubbels once again became the first player born in the 21st century to appear in the UEFA Europa League, as well as the youngest player ever to make a Europa League debut at 16 years and 113 days old.

Capable of operating as either a winger or striker at that age due to his electric pace, his early promise was hampered by injuries, but his potential as a forward has remained clear, boasting explosive pace and flair.

That saw AS Monaco take a chance on the youngster when, in June 2018, Geubbels signed with Monaco for €20 million. However, injury issues continued to persist and, following just one goal in 17 matches, in August 2021, he joined Nantes on loan for the 2021/22 season with an option to buy.

He scored his first goal for the club in January 2022 in the Coupe de France against Vitré. Three weeks later, he scored again in a 4-2 league victory over Lorient. They were just two of his three goals for Nantes in 26 matches. At the end of the season, they opted not to activate the buy clause, and he returned to Monaco.

He did come away with something from that campaign, however. During his loan spell, Nantes managed to win the Coupe de France. But a player that had once previously been likened to Kylian Mbappé was yet to reach anything like close to his potential.

Since his entry onto the big stage of French football in 2017, when he became the first player born in the 21st century to appear in Ligue 1, he has struggled to find a first-team place and only played in 39 games in the French top-flight.

Somewhat of a failed wonderkid, Geubbels has had to reinvent himself in Switzerland with St. Gallen. He is able to represent numerous national teams but has so far been involved in the French youth set up from France U-16 level up to France U-19 level.

As a player, Geubbels excels with his acceleration and dribbling, making him a constant threat in wide positions. His direct approach, ability to stretch defences, and sharp off-the-ball movement highlight his potential as a dynamic winger or more central forward. Despite his injury struggles, he still shows flashes of his early brilliance.

He has predominantly operated as a striker since moving from Monaco to the Swiss top-flight, scoring or assisting 26 goals in 74 games for his new side, including goals in the UEFA Conference League.

The 23-year-old striker has nine goals and two assists to his name in all competitions in 24/25, scoring six in the Swiss Super League this season plus two in the Conference League qualifying stage, where he played alongside Isaac Schmidt before he moved to Elland Road.

His most recent strike came over the weekend, returning from an injury setback to score against Servette in a 1-1 draw, which was his 23rd appearance of the season so far. It's possible that the Championship clubs keeping tabs on him are seeing more of the early signs of potential turn into tangible output.

That said, since Sky Sports’ update, both Leeds Live and the Pink Un have played down Leeds and Norwich links to the striker. That could pave the way for Tony Mowbray and West Brom to swoop in for the centre-forward.