Good Morning. It's Friday 25th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Udinese find replacement for De Paul
Udinese's resolve may be about to buckle over the proposed transfer of Argentine International midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. The North Eastern Italian outfit have raided Watford, aiming to bring Roberto Pereyra back to the Stadio Friuli. The 29 year old attacking midfielder made 98 appearances between 2011-2014 for Le Zebrette (The Little Zebras).
Both Udinese and Watford are owned by the Pozzo family, so unless Giampaolo and son Gino are on completely different spectrums, a deal seems imminent. Obviously, this would mean that De Paul would be surplus to requirements.
Leeds made a €30m bid for the Argentine International a fortnight ago, but the offer was knocked back. Messrs Orta and co were told there would be no negotiation on their €35million expectation. Now that they have found a replacement for the 26 year old, can a deal to bring De Paul to Elland Road be resurrected?
De Paul, Ryan Kent or Ross Barkley
Which one of the three will Leeds buy? Will Leeds activate Ryan Kents buy out clause with a £20 million offer or wait and see whether the Pozzo family change their mind over the €30m bid the Whites made a fortnight ago for the Argentine International De Paul.
Leeds tried to sign Kent this time last season but were unsuccessful, and the 23 year old signed for the blue side of Glasgow for £7.5m. Has Kent improved three fold in twelve months? Is he worth that money?
What about De Paul? Its fair to say that there are very few other contenders for the 26yo. If Leeds were to be given the green light with their €30 million (£27 million) bid, is that better business than Kent?
Chelsea have said that Ross Barkley is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge! You may recall back in the 2012-13 season, Barkley spent the second half of the season at Elland Road. Though for some strange reason Neil Warnock seemed to prefer Michael Brown over the talented youngster. The 26 year old has rarely lived up to his World class potential, but if anyone could unlock that talent, it would be Bielsa. The Blues have set the bar at £30m.
Who is most value and who fits into Bielsa's system the best?
Manchester Utd change tact on Daniel James
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth claims that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may agree to loaning out Daniel James to the Whites if they can sign number one target Jadon Sancho or an alternative attacking player before deadline day. The Sky Sports journalist was quoted as saying;
While Manchester United are struggling to offload players, there does appear to be a concrete interest from Leeds in the winger Daniel James. Would United consider letting James go out on loan? Ordinarily, yes. The problem is that he is currently the first-choice back-up to Mason Greenwood on the right side. So that brings us back to Jadon Sancho, and you wonder if James will be allowed to go out on loan without Sancho or an alternative was brought into the squad. It would appear that he wouldn’t unless they brought in Sancho or a replacement. United fans are getting anxious with 12 days left to get business done.