Wolves and Leeds United 'showing interest' in bargain striker who could become 'better than Kylian Mbappe'

Wolverhampton Wanderers have emerged as one of the leading contenders to sign in-demand French forward Willem Geubbels this summer.

The Old Gold finished in 16th position last season with 42 points after flirting with relegation for a large portion of the campaign particularly in the early months before Vitor Pereira’s arrival.

They are hoping for a much more productive campaign this time around in the Portuguese coach’s first full season in the dugout but will have to adapt to life without their top goalscorer and talisman Matheus Cunha after his £63m transfer to Manchester United was officially confirmed.

Jørgen Strand Larsen is expected to remain at Wolves next term after his productive loan spell but it’s anticipated that the club will be in the market for further competition in that area of the pitch as they look to climb the table.

Wolverhampton Wanderers face competition for Willem Geubbels

Foot Mercato believes Wolves are one of the leading contenders to land Willem Geubbels from Swiss side St. Gallen. The outlet understands Geubbels wants to move onto the next level after three hugely successful seasons in Switzerland which have seen him rejuvenate his career after struggling for regular football at Nantes in Ligue 1.

However, the 23-year-old has no shortage of suitors in England with newly promoted top-flight side Leeds United showing interest in the forward along with Championship promotion hopefuls Southampton and beaten play-off finalists Sheffield United. The Saints are managed by Will Still, who has vast knowledge of European football from his time in France and Belgium while the Blades are reportedly to be considering a rebuild which could see manager Chris Wilder depart.

Why are Wolves interested in Willem Geubbels?

Willem Geubbels started his playing career at Lyon's highly-esteemed academy, which has previously produced the likes of Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Bradley Barcola and new Manchester City ace Rayan Cherki. Geubbels made four appearances for his boyhood club before moving onto another French giant in AS Monaco. He played 17 times for Stade Louis II outfit but only socred one goal as he struggled for first team starts.

He gained experience out on loan at Nantes, scoring three times and making one assist in 26 appearances but struggled to nail down a regular place with only four starts. Geubbels has played for St.Gallen since 2022 and after an initial bedding in period, has become a first team regular. Overall, he has 27 goals and eight assists in 92 appearances, but significantly 17 of those have come this season, including 14 in 31 league matches.

It appears that Geubbels is now approaching the peak years of his career and finding his confidence in the world of senior football. He’s always been highly regarded in the French youth setup and is showing signs of fulfilling his potential after once being compared to Kylian Mbappe.

He said back in 2018, as a young confident 17-year-old: “It makes you want to do good things when you see what he did (Kylian Mbappe). I am not putting pressure on myself. I am very young too. It is easy to make the comparison. I can very well see myself following his footsteps and doing better.”

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