After Igor Paixao decided he’d rather go to Marseille and with Manor Solomon seemingly destined to remain at Tottenham Hotspur for the time being, Leeds are now on the verge of signing Milan’s Noah Okafor.

The Athletic reported this evening that Leeds are close to finalising the agreement with the player and his current club, which would see the 25 year-old moving to Elland Road for a fee of up to £18million. He is due to have a medical tomorrow, but that may not be a foregone conclusion, bearing in mind his injury record over the last two seasons.

He has started only eleven games during that time, for Milan and during a loan spell at Napoli, as the southern club won the Serie A title under Antonio Conte. And that was after a proposed loan move to RB Leipzig fell through. So is he going to be another injury-hit liability, or will he seize the opportunity to get his career back on track?

He began his career at Basel in his native Switzerland, where he caught the eye of Red Bull Salzburg, who won the Austrian title during all four of the seasons he was there. That was at least in part due to his 34 goals and 23 assists, but that was for the club that is by far the richest in their league.

Which might remind us of some of the players we signed at the start of our last Premier League season, who might have looked impressive in Austria, but not so much in a league of a far higher standard. In total he has made 53 appearances for Milan in all competitions, scoring seven goals.

At international level he has earned 24 Swiss caps, including representing his country in the World Cup finals. At six foot one he fits the profile of the type of players we have been signing all summer, and he can play on either flank, or as a central striker if need be. Last night’s game suggested that in this league we might need a bit more guile to break teams down when we’re on top, but can Okafor provide it?

Opinion was certainly divided in the comments section of the Athletic, even among those who have seen him on a regular basis. One said “He’s a good player, versatile, and has a knack for key goals. He didn’t have a great season last year, but he’s a decent player”.

And another agreed “Was really good on the counter. Could see him being a super-sub for Leeds and scoring some late key goals like he did for Milan a few years ago.” But another cautioned that “He isn't dynamic enough to beat reliably beat defenders on the touchline. He doesn't combine well. There's a reason he didn't play at Milan or Napoli”.

The only time that most of us will have seen him was in the friendly in Dublin, when he looked impressive, and has at least seemed to have convinced Daniel Farke that his opponent Schmidt really doesn’t have what it takes to be a Leeds player. Evidently the Leeds recruitment staff have liked what they’ve seen, and we will soon find out if they were right and Okafor’s critics were wrong.

Reuters