Leeds United and Jerry Mbakogu has been in the news over the past few days after we picked up the latest quotes from Italy.
The deal has been considered done in Italy for some time, and in February, Carpi’s general manager Matteo Scali was quoted as saying: “There’s a gentleman agreement with Leeds for June.”
Then last week, Gianni Rosati, an Italian director of sport, and ‘market expert’ according to Corriere Adriatico, was speaking ahead of Carpi’s match against Ascoli, and said: “For Ascoli it would be better if he doesn’t play, even if his head is now in England, at Leeds.”
It’s not a signing which has been met with excitement, given the striker’s goalscoring record isn’t exactly amazing, but there’s constant reiteration in Italy of how important he is for Carpi.
Gazzetta di Modena are covering the player’s return to training, having been struggling with knee and muscle injuries, and they make clear how huge it is for Carpi.
The Serie B club have had serious problems scoring, which may explain why Mbakogu only has 6 league goals so far this season. Carpi have only netted 28 times in 34 matches, easily Serie B’s worst record, despite them being 9th in the table.
Mbakogu has a general impact when he plays, taking the scoring ratio up, and Gazzetta di Modena say the ‘importance’ of the striker is ‘certified by numbers’… Carpi are much likelier to score when he plays.
Perhaps it’s not such a terrible Leeds United transfer.
