da luck： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
da cassino： According to TEAMtalk, Sheffield Wednesday are leading the chase to sign Crawley Town forward Beryly ‘Bez’ Lubala in January.
And it could be precisely what they need if they are to lessen the reliance on top goalscorer Steven Fletcher.
What’s the word?
The report suggests that a whole host of Championship and League One clubs are keen on signing the 21-year-old, including Garry Monk’s former club Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic, and Peterborough United.
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It is believed that the Owls are the front-runners due to Monk’s previous experience with the young starlet, having been the man to hand Lubala his professional debut at Birmingham City.
Now the Congolese native plies his trade in League Two for Crawley Town after being unable to come to an agreement over a new contract up in the Midlands, and his form so far this campaign has clearly caught the eye.
Lubala has netted seven times in 19 appearances across all competitions, which even includes a finish against Premier League outfit Norwich City in the Carabao Cup, per Transfermarkt.
Void fulfilled?
Much has been made of Wednesday’s struggles in front of goal – Fletcher hasn’t netted in five straight games now, and as their top goalscorer, the onus has been on him.
Massimo Luongo had started to chip in before injury while the likes of Sam Winnall, Jordan Rhodes, and the returning Fernando Forestieri can barely get a look in for whatever reason.
Lubala displays an array of attributes that none of the above have, and it could also aid Monk’s 4-4-2 system as he would become an ideal partner to the 32-year-old in attack due to his contrasting style.
Bradley Rice at BirminghamLive once described the emerging talent as a “natural athlete” who has the ability to “inject pace and energy” while his current boss at Crawley (and ex-Blues coach), Gabriele Cioffi, said this upon signing him in the summer: “He is a terrific athlete, he can score goals. I think he will thrive with us.”
It remains to be seen how accurate these reports are, but it can be said that Monk knows exactly what he would be getting from the 21-year-old, and there’s no hiding from the fact that a forward is needed in January.
He would be an ideal acquisition.