Leeds United’s August transfer target Joseph Paintsil still impressed Genk as he helped them to a 2-0 win over Cucaricki in the Europa Conference League last night.
Daniel Farke is aiming to get the best out of his attacking setup this month with Georginio Rutter hitting top form at the moment, but his options could have been even stronger if transfers materialised.
Genk forward Joseph Paintsil was someone Leeds had tabled a bid for in the summer months, but the transfer never got close to being completed.Leeds were willing to make an offer up to £10million to sign the Ghana international in August, but they ended up backing out of talks after it was claimed that Genk had moved the goalposts when it came to accepting offers for him.
Southampton were also in the running to sign the winger, as they aimed to strengthen their attacking depth too, after losing Nathan Tella and others in the summer window.
He remained at Genk for this season as the window shut, and so far, he’s proving why he was sought after by both Leeds and the Saints.
With two goals and three assists already in the Juliper Pro League, he was looking to get his campaign in the Europa Conference League up and running last night, having missed matchday one due to suspension.
An away trip to Serbian outfit FK Cukaricki saw Genk and Paintsil come away with all three points and the winger was at the heart of their crucial result.
Genk opened the scoring as Paintsil was played through down the left wing, before he checked inside at the by-line and pulled back to Bryan Heynen who scored. Paintsil then doubled Genk’s lead from the penalty spot as they cruised to victory
While Leeds look strong in terms of their attacking depth, having someone like Paintsil with that penetration in behind, as well as the end product to score and set goals up this season, perhaps it’s one that the club are regretting not being able to land
