Reports have emerged that Leeds United are chasing Los Angeles FC midfielder Jose Cifuentes.
Ecuadorian journalist Andrés Ponce told Radio Diblu that ‘Europe is chasing’ the 23-year-old as there are teams ‘interested’ in the player, with Leeds and Brighton mentioned. The Whites were linked with Cifuentes earlier in the window, with Leicester also reportedly interested in the player at the time.
Leeds have already made seven signings this summer. Experienced goalkeeper Joel Robles has joined Rasmus Kristensen, Brenden Aaronson, Marc Roca, Darko Gyabi, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra at Elland Road. With the Ecuadorian linked with Leeds United, here is everything you need to know about Jose Cifuentes.
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Who is Jose Cifuentes?
Cifuentes is a 23-year-old midfielder who plays for Los Angeles FC in the MLS. He is an Ecuador international who moved from his native country to America in January 2020.
What has Jose Cifuentes done so far?
Cifuentes has played 81 games for Los Angeles FC, scoring 12 goals and claiming 14 assists. Having only played in the Ecuadorian top flight previous to that with Universidad Católica del Ecuador and Club Deportivo America, he has gone on to establish himself as one of the leading players in the MLS.
He joined Los Angeles FC for a fee in the region of $3 million and he has been an ever-present in the side since. He has only missed one of 27 league games this term.
He has made eight appearances for Ecuador, five of which have been in friendlies, while the rest have been in World Cup qualifiers.
Before he made his senior Ecuador debut, Cifuentes won the under-20s South American Championship in 2019 - making nine appearances in the competition. Cifuentes also won goal of the tournament at the FIFA under-20s World Cup in Poland.
What type of player is Jose Cifuentes?
Cifuentes is an all-action, box-to-box midfielder. His style is perhaps best summed up by his goal, assists and yellow card stats throughout his career.
In 106 first-team appearances across his career, Cifuentes has scored 13 goals, assisted 14 times and received 21 bookings. He can impact games in the final third, but he can also disrupt play with his ability to cover the pitch at high speed.
The 23-year-old is a lively midfielder, who possesses great strength for a player who stands at 5'7". Being small in stature also means he can wriggle past players with ease, while he has been known to score the occasional screamer.
What have people said about Jose Cifuentes?
Cifuentes was heavily linked with a move to Celtic in 2019 - and Neil Lennon confirmed he was a player they were monitoring.
"It's a player who we know very little about," said Lennon. "But one that has come up on our radar. That's all I can say on that one."
A big admirer of Cifuentes is South American football expert Tim Vickery, who said in 2019 that the Ecuadorian could be 'one of the best all-round midfielders' to come out of South America in a long time.
"He was the beating heart of the U20 side and I think he's a terrific midfielder," Vickery told the Daily Record before his move to Los Angeles FC.
"He's strong, he's got quality, he's one of the best all-round midfielders, potentially, that I've seen come out of South America in a while."
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