Leeds United could see some transfer activity this week after The Athletic’s Phil Hay provided a key update on three players who could join this club.
What’s he said?
Marcelo Bielsa’s side were defeated 2-0 by Sheffield Wednesday at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon, which has resulted in some supporters demanding that Victor Orta pulls his finger out sometime soon.
Their calls could soon come to fruition as Hay revealed that one deal is close, while the club also pursues two others.
He said:
“Caprile is basically done and Poveda is on the cards. That should happen this week. With Adams (the crucial one), Southampton as a club seem open to a deal. But Hasenhuttl appears insistent on keeping him. The key factor might be that Adams, up until now, has been wanting to leave. That could tip the balance.”
One, two, three…
According to TuttomercatoWeb, Leeds were set to have Italian goalkeeper Elia Caprile in for a medical over the weekend, and that is now something Hay claims is ‘basically done.’
Whether or not he makes an impact remains to be seen given Kiko Casilla’s standing in the starting line up and Illan Meslier’s impressive debut against Arsenal in the FA Cup.
The next player said to be ‘on the cards’ is another youngster, winger Ivan Poveda of Manchester City. Beren Cross says a permanent deal either this month or in the summer seems likely and he would be part of Bielsa’s core group.
And then there is striker Che Adams, the one position that the Whites could really do with right now as they only have one senior option in Patrick Bamford following Eddie Nketiah’s recent recall to Arsenal.
Although, that deal is proving to be somewhat doubtful after the 23-year-old came on as a substitute to provide an assist for Southampton’s winner at Leicester City on Saturday.
Call yourself a Leeds expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?
Hay also revealed that Bielsa still wants a striker, so this one could go down to the wire this month.
In other news, ex-Whites man Danny Pugh discusses the future of Leeds’ biggest star amid constant transfer interest…