Leeds United are lacking a potent striker in their ranks who can fire in the crucial goals that would see them get over the line at the top of the Championship, securing promotion comfortably straight back to the Premier League off the back of a talisman constantly delivering.
Patrick Bamford was the main man up top for a period of time, helping himself to seven goals in the league before his prolific nature fell to the wayside in the middle of March and has never been recaptured again.
Back when Leeds were a mainstay in the top flight in the early noughties, the Whites never really had this issue that one of their centre-forwards would suddenly experience a barren run of form in front of goal.
This signing to bolster their centre-forward positions in 2000 ended up becoming an all-time great at Elland Road, going down as a beloved figure who was renowned for his deadly finishing ability.
Mark Viduka's time at Leeds
Purchased for £6m just after the turn of the millennium, Mark Viduka would go on to prove himself as a masterstroke of a buy with his name still very much present in the Leeds hall-of-fame to this day.
The confident Australian forward is still Leeds' all-time Premier League top-scorer with 59 strikes from 130 games, including this stunner away at Highbury against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in 2003.
Viduka's former Whites teammate Danny Mills would even go as far as to label the 6 foot 2 striker "unplayable", when talking to FootballFanCast about some of the best players he's ever lined up alongside recently.
Leeds would have been disappointed when Viduka departed for Middlesbrough in 2004, but those four years the menacing marksman had at Leeds were special looking back when you then consider the poor strikers that have followed after.
This fantastic deal in today's inflated market would still be considered a steal, with Totally Football's Transfer Index revealing how much Viduka would cost in 2024 if the same golden move took place now.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
Mark Viduka's transfer value in 2024
According to the Transfer Index, Leeds would be able to land Viduka in today's inflated market for £21m – a reasonable amount of money to splash out on a striker still who would go on to be seen as an icon for the Whites.
In Leeds' current squad for context, Georginio Rutter was purchased for £15m more at £36m which was initially seen as a major transfer blunder.
Now, with the unbelievable season the Frenchman's having as Leeds' main attacking spark – racking up 17 assists – the same amount doesn't seem too excessive.
Moreover, Daniel James was also an expensive buy when he joined from Manchester United in 2021, beating Viduka's modern valuation by costing the Whites £25m.
Again, Leeds have been vindicated in their decision to spend those millions now with the Welshman playing out of his skin this season by notching up 13 goals and seven assists from 42 games.
It makes the original £6m Leeds paid for Viduka look even more minuscule compared to today's costs, going down as one of Leeds' most effective buys.
Bamford will hope he can get back to being a potent finisher for Leeds in their remaining Championship games, with Farke needing seasoned professionals like the 30-year-old to come good in clutch moments especially if the Whites have to settle for the lottery of the playoffs.
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ByDan EmeryApr 19, 2024