Release clause active this summer as Leeds United eye bargain swoop of 14-goal striker - report

Leeds United have been linked with fresh interest in FC St Gallen striker Willem Geubbels ahead of their return to the Premier League.

A new striker will be top of Daniel Farke’s summer shopping list as he prepares for life as a Premier League manager, with a busy and expensive summer on the cards at Elland Road. Premier League experience is needed throughout the squad but Leeds are also expected to recruit from abroad, deploying a hybrid approach to their transfer business that has brought success so far under 49ers Enterprises.

There is a feeling across English football that better value can be found on the continent and while there are obvious risks regarding adaptation, European arrivals can very quickly prove to be bargains. And Leeds have got plenty right on that front, not least the £2.8million signing of Ao Tanaka from German second-tier side Fortuna Dusseldorf.

And so while established Premier League frontmen such as Callum Wilson and Beto are thought to be on Leeds’ radar, so too is St Gallen striker Geubbels. The 23-year-old was first linked with a move to Elland Road in January and now The Sunday Mirror claim interest could be reignited with a cut-price deal on the cards.

How much could Willem Geubbels cost Leeds United?

The national newspaper claims a release clause worth around £4.6m will become active following the end of St Gallen’s current campaign, with Leeds re-emerging as possible suitors. And that could present a real bargain, given Geubbels has been in red-hot form with 14 goals and three assists in 31 Swiss Super League appearances.

But if Leeds are to pursue a move for Geubbels, they will not be alone with reports from Germany naming Bundesliga side Union Berlin as a possible destination for the St Gallen striker. The report from Kicker, via Berliner Kurier, claims Elland Road chiefs and relegated Premier League club Ipswich Town are ‘also bidding’.

"My contract runs until 2027,” Geubbels is quoted saying in the Berliner Kurier report. “Let's see what happens. Offers? At the moment, I don't know exactly what I'm really interested in. If there are offers, we'll discuss it."

Geubbels has really started to fulfil his potential at St Gallen, having scored 22 goals across his two full campaigns since leaving AS Monaco in 2023. The French youth international came through the ranks at Lyon and was picked up early by Monaco, who in 2018 paid a whopping £17.5m for the striker who was only 16-years-old at the time.

Things didn’t work out for the teenager at Monaco and while he won the Coupe de France on loan at Nantes, a permanent option was not triggered and he joined St Gallen in January 2023. The striker has come through the ranks at international level with France but last played for the Under-19s in 2020.

He played alongside current Leeds defender Isaac Schmidt at St Gallen before the latter’s move to West Yorkshire last summer, where minutes have been limited. Farke has spoken of the difficulty in adapting to the physicality of English football when coming across from Switzerland, something that will likely be considered if they pursue a move for Geubbels.

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