Leeds United transfers as £20m summer link resurfaces amid Wolves competition
Leeds United have been freshly linked with interest in a red-hot striker ahead of the January transfer window.
Leeds United have been freshly linked with interest in AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott ahead of the January transfer window.
Parrott was one of several strikers to be linked with a potential move to Elland Road over the summer. The Republic of Ireland international registered an impressive 14 goals in 30 league appearances in the Netherlands during the 2024/25 campaign and already has seven in eight games this term.
Leeds eventually went for a pair of free agents in the form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha but goals have been hard to come by. The two strikers have four Premier League efforts between them and a team total of 11 is better only than Wolves in the English top-flight.
The January transfer window might offer Leeds a chance to strengthen in attacking areas and talkSPORT has now reported on continued interest in Parrott. Journalist Alex Crook claims the 23-year-old is ‘high on the list’ of striker targets in West Yorkshire with five-and-a-half weeks until the mid-season window opens.
Parrott shot back into the spotlight after an incredible November international break in which he scored five goals in two games to secure a World Cup play-off spot for the Republic of Ireland. The striker scored twice in a 2-0 win over Portugal before a stunning hat-trick to beat Hungary 3-2, breaking the hearts of their opponents including Liverpool pair Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez.
Those performances have seen Parrott’s stock rise further and AZ Alkmaar are believed to want more than £20m for their in-form frontman. Relegation rivals Wolves are also thought to be interested in the former Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate as they look to climb up from the foot of the Premier League.
Who is reported Leeds United transfer target Troy Parrott?
Parrott does have some Premier League experience, albeit that came as a teenager for Spurs and amounts to just two appearances. Much of the striker’s early years were actually spent out on loan across the Championship and League One with Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons and Preston North End - but a prolific spell never came.
The Republic of Ireland star made a bold choice in moving to the Netherlands when joining Excelsior but was rewarded, with 17 goals in his debut campaign catching the eye of AZ Alkmaar. In two years with his current club, the forward has 34 goals in 62 games across all competitions.
"I've had to take risks in moving to different places,” Parrott recently told BBC Sport. I've failed, got back up. Failed again and then got back up. Who is to say I'm not going to fail again?
“Moving to the Netherlands gave me a sense of being wanted, I felt appreciated and sometimes for a player that's all they need. I know playing in England didn't go so well and believe me I really beat myself about it at the time.
"So when it came to thinking about moving away, I thought: 'What is the worst that can happen?' And I really love it, I feel appreciated, I feel out of the spotlight which I never had for a few years."