Mistake with Leeds United player not learned from, €3m+ wages, and concern growing

There are concerns in the German media Hamburg have made the same mistake with Bobby Wood as they did with Leeds United loanee Pierre-Michel Lasogga.

Like Lasogga, Wood has been given a lucrative contract by the Bundesliga side, but like the Leeds United forward during his time at Hamburg he’s failing to justify his salary.

When Lasogga joined Leeds United in the last window, Wood was meant to fill the void left by the German, but the American forward has struggled for form this season. Similar to Lasogga the player showed initial promise, before his form started to dip.

German journalist Lars Zimmermann believes Hamburg have failed to learn from the mistake of giving Lasogga a salary of  €3m+ a season, by putting Wood on a similar deal. Hamburg now have the problem that Wood is contracted to the club until June 2021, and given their dire financial situation this isn’t ideal.

A reason why Hamburg offloaded Lasogga on to Leeds United last summer was the huge salary he’s contracted to get until June 2019. The Championship side are paying a percentage of his reported €59k a week wages, and come next summer the German side will be keen for a permanent deal.

Whether Leeds United will provide that permanent home is increasingly questionable.

ND