Leeds United supporters were hit with a devastating blow on Monday evening when Fabrizio Romano gave Marseille the ‘here we go’ treatment for Igor Paixao.
It had been reported earlier in the day that the Whites were expected to agree a deal in the region of £28m to sign the Brazilian forward from Feyenoord ahead of the French side.
However, as you can see in the post above, Marseille now have a deal ‘in place’ to sign the 25-year-old star, who they have reached an agreement with over a five-year contract.
Romano claims that Paixao ‘wanted’ to sign for the French side despite Leeds United’s attempts to swoop in and convince him to make the move to England.
Given that Lukas Nmecha as a free transfer is the only attacking signing the Whites have made so far this summer, missing out on the winger has come as a big blow for the club.
However, it will be interesting to see how the Feyenoord star handles a move to a top five league in Europe, as Leeds have been burned by Eredivisie stars in the past.
Why Leeds may have dodged a bullet with Igor Paixao
It is, firstly, worth saying that Paixao would have been a very exciting signing for the club, because he enjoyed a phenomenal 2024/25 campaign in the Netherlands.
The 25-year-old star delivered 18 goals and 14 assists in all competitions from the left wing position, which shows that he has the potential to provide a huge threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
However, Leeds once splashed out a fee of £21m to sign left winger Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord in an eerily similar move in 2022, after his impressive year in the Eredivisie.
Appearances
30
34
Goals
12
16
Big chances missed
8
11
Big chances created
9
12
Assists
7
10
Dribbles completed per game
3.6
1.7
Duels won per game
8.1
5.2
As you can see in the table above, Sinisterra and Paixao both delivered plenty of goals and assists in their respective seasons in the Dutch top-flight for Feyenoord.
The former Leeds man, though, has only managed eight goals and three assists in 51 Premier League appearances in his career to date, which shows how hard it can be to translate that form from the Netherlands over to England.
With this in mind, the club’s latest reported target to bolster their attack may be just as exciting as the fallen through deal for Paixao would have been.
Leeds in the race to sign English star
According to Calcio Mercato, Leeds United are one of a number of teams lining up a potential swoop to sign Jonathan Rowe from Marseille this summer.
The report claims that the Whites, Bournemouth, and Roma are all interested in signing the England U21 international, whilst Atalanta may also join the race if they miss out on Ademola Lookman.
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In a funny turn of events, Calcio Mercato explains that the former Norwich City attacker may be available for clubs to snap up this summer because of the pending arrival of Paixao, who would take his place in the squad on the left flank.
The report adds that Leeds are not the only team turning to Rowe as an alternative to the Feyenoord star, as Roma are also looking at him after also missing out on Paixao.
It also reveals that it will take a fee in the region of £17m in order to secure a deal for the English winger, which means that he would be significantly cheaper than the Eredivisie sensation, but he could be just as exciting.
Why Leeds should sign Jonathan Rowe
The Whites should push to win the race to sign Rowe before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September because he could be just as exciting as Paixao.
First and foremost, the former Canaries star is three years younger than Paixao and still has plenty of time left before he enters the prime years of his career, which the Brazilian winger is already in.
When the Feyenoord ace was 22, he managed four goals and four assists in 18 games in the Brazilian top-flight and had not played a minute of football in Europe. Rowe, meanwhile, has played 13 Premier League matches and 28 in Ligue 1 in his career already.
The Englishman scored three goals, created eight ‘big chances’, and assisted three goals in 28 games in Ligue 1, but the young forward only started six of those appearances under Roberto De Zerbi.
xG
0.40
Top 14%
xG on target
0.48
Top 13%
Goals
0.34
Top 25%
xA
0.25
Top 16%
Assists
0.34
Top 14%
Chances created
2.04
Top 22%
As you can see in the table above, the £17m-rated star’s underlying statistics, per 90, was very impressive in comparison to his positional peers in the division, which suggests that he could have delivered far more goals and assists if he had been given more game time.
This is why the forward, who scored 13 goals for Norwich in the 2023/24 campaign, could be a very exciting signing for Leeds because he appears to have the potential to explode at the top end of the pitch if given regular starts, which Daniel Farke could offer him at Elland Road.
Whilst he may not have had a season as prolific as the one that Paixao just had, the England U21 international could be a signing that is just as exciting for the Whites because he has shown a lot of promise in a major league and has experience in England, and in the Premier League.
As well as potentially providing quality in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals, the 22-year-old is also a versatile forward who can play on either flank or through the middle, scoring the winner as a centre-forward for England at the U21 Euros this summer.
Rowe was once compared to Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ousmane Dembele as talent scout Jacek Kulig called him a “young Dembele” because the winger was “one of the most perfectly two-footed players” he had seen, which is why he is so adept at playing on either flank.
It is now down to Leeds to ensure that they do not lose another race for an exciting left wing target, because the Marseille whiz appears to have all the tools to be a fantastic signing for Farke.
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1 ByDan EmeryJul 29, 2025
