Inside Leeds United's Igor Paixao pain and where they go next

New York Times

4 days ago

The sting in the tail of Leeds United's Igor Paixao pursuit left the club's hierarchy smarting. They were always dealing in hope rather than expectation with the Brazilian and the hammer blow eventually came on Monday afternoon.
With 32 days of the transfer window remaining, the club have secured seven new faces and hope to add up to four more. The final quantity of incomings will be dictated by who leaves between now and September 1.
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A full-back remains a possibility, especially if Swiss defender Isaac Schmidt is keen to leave for minutes before next summer's World Cup. A striker is a priority, while wingers and attacking midfielders are also on the agenda if the club's preferred options become available.
The natural assumption, no doubt being made by much of the football world, is Leeds will now look to offer another €30million-plus for an alternative target out wide. Sources at Elland Road, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, have indicated it may not be as straightforward as that.
The Athletic has been briefed on what went on with Paixao this week, what's next in the transfer window for the club, and what this knockback means for Leeds.
The issue Leeds, and most clubs, face is finding players who will improve their squad, be willing to join and be available at the right price. The club's hierarchy knows this is not what supporters will want to read, but this is the state of play.
Of the wingers who are better than Daniel James, Wilfried Gnonto, Jack Harrison and Largie Ramazani, United's key decision-makers do not think there are many available to them. There are some, like Paixao, and irons remain in the fire with them, but Leeds do not expect it will be easy to find as perfect a target as the Feyenoord 25-year-old.
They liked his ability to create his own chances, his age, his experience, his resale potential, his finishing and his set-piece deliveries. They also had to wait months for his wage demands to fall into their range because he was someone United considered beyond them as the close season approached.
Manager Daniel Farke will certainly not say no to differential players, as United's hierarchy call Paixao and others. They could be the difference between staying up and going down.
Striker Rodrigo Muniz could be one such player. It has been known for a long time he is the club's key target at the tip of the attack, but as August arrives, urgency is increasing.
Leeds know they can only be so patient, with a strong start to the league campaign a necessity to retain last season's momentum. There will be alternatives to Muniz on United's radar, but the decision they make on how long to wait for Fulham's forward before chasing someone else may be one of the biggest they make in August.
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Senior Leeds sources know that window is shrinking and, with the Paixao deal dead in the water, there is a sense the striker chase is where energy will now focus. Schmidt's loan exit, as he himself knows from last August, is a deal Leeds know they can do late in the window if necessary.
Another full-back has to be added before the Swiss is allowed to go. As for further attacking reinforcements, there are bound to be Premier League loan options that could appeal as August rolls on, among more expensive permanent targets.
Paixao proved to be the first, at least public, blow of the summer. Anyone who watched highlight reels of the 25-year-old would have been unable to fight the Raphinha comparisons. Excitement was inevitable as Leeds made progress with the deal.
Chairman Paraag Marathe, managing director Robbie Evans, sporting director Adam Underwood and head of recruitment Alex Davies had assumed he would be beyond Leeds in the early stages of the window. However, in the past fortnight, they found his wage demands began to drop and Marseille were, evidently, failing to get their deal done quickly.
Leeds sources say the club had received emails from Feyenoord and Paixao's representatives suggesting respective terms had been agreed. The former landed with United shortly before half-time in Saturday's friendly win over Paderborn.
Even at that stage, with all three parties seemingly in agreement, Underwood was understood to never feel comfortable about it being a done deal. There was a niggling feeling Marseille's European offering was always what Paixao and his family wanted.
On Sunday, Marathe, Evans and Underwood all held long calls with the player and his representatives. Farke spoke to Paixao too. Those calls from the manager are normally a sign of how advanced negotiations have become.
Even Lucas Perri, United's newest Brazilian of barely 48 hours standing, was on the phone to his compatriot in the dead of the German night on Sunday to convince him of the switch.
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By Monday, things had gone quiet at the player's end and Leeds began to read the writing on the wall. Their €32million offer, with €3million in add-ons, was good enough, but it seems Marseille eventually got close enough to that for Feyenoord to give them the green light too.
Leeds cannot afford for next May's reflections to be focused on the star player they needed but didn't get this summer.
There's one month to go, but only 18 days until three points are on the line against Everton.
(Top photos: Getty Images)