We know so much about Leeds United’s pursuit of a striker, yet they still don’t have a player through the door.
We know who the Whites have been after, who they’ve been knocked back by, and we also know the type of deal they’re looking to strike.
Indeed, Phil Hay’s Q&A session earlier this week revealed that the majority of the deals that the Whites are looking at are loans with an obligation to buy next summer.
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We’ve previously spoken about the FFP risk that these types of deals involve if the Yorkshire club aren’t promoted, but there is an obvious positive involved in conducting your business in this way.
The fact of the matter is that a loan player who knows he’s staying at a club permanently has so much more incentive to perform than one who knows he’s not. For example, imagine if Leeds loaned in Dwight Gayle without an obligation to buy.
Whether they were promoted or not, it wouldn’t really make a difference to him in the grand scheme of things because he’d know that in six months he’s headed back to Newcastle.
However, if he’s there for the long-run then there is more reason for him to want to be a success. This would be his team now and he wants to cement his starting spot, and if he can, he wants that spot to be in the Premier League.
Of course, loanees without those long-term promises can also be brilliant, just look at Gayle’s time with West Brom last term where he scored 24 goals.
This way of operating removes the risk that a loan player wouldn’t be as motivated as his teammates in order to gain promotion.
This differing mindset is a real phenomenon, as detailed by Andros Townsend in his recent article for The Player’s Tribune, but it looks as if United are going to avoid falling into this trap.
In other news, one Leeds man’s comments show that the Whites may need an attitude adjustment.