The problem with Leeds United's audacious deadline day double attempt with position shift needed — YEP 1/2/24
You could hardly accuse Leeds United of greed in this transfer window, but an audacious attempt to make a deadline day double signing was always going to rest upon insane levels of generosity at the top of the Championship.
By Graham Smyth
Connor Roberts, medical pending, is as close to a banker as
you'll get. Daniel Farke is convinced, the pair spoke this morning and Roberts
has been playing so he ticks the manager's recent involvement box. He played
against Manchester City on Wednesday night, no less, even if it was only half
an hour. Barring any last minute shenanigans of the sort Leeds have been stung
with previously, that one will happen.
The other, which has got nowhere near as far down the line,
was at lunchtime still very much at the exploration phase because of its
difficulty. Harry Souttar is a Leicester City player. Leicester City are top of
the Championship table, but even so the idea of strengthening a team 12 points
behind them when there are 51 points still up for grabs could never have been
that palatable. Even if they, like Leeds, have some Profitability and
Sustainability challenges and would like to get Souttar's wages off the books,
helping out a direct promotion rival is a kindness that would not go down well
with the Foxes faithful. Earlier this week Enzo Maresca went on a bit of a rant
about the fans, from whom there have been complaints about style of play and a
lack of January signings. Best not to pull on the Foxes' tail twice in one
week, perhaps.
Souttar's location is a problem for any team hoping to get
him out of Leicester before tonight's 11pm deadline. He's at the Asia Cup. In
Qatar. Geography has not always been a barrier to deadline day recruitment -
the 11th-hour Willy Gnonto deal is proof of that - but you would have to think
it a challenge, at best, to complete a medical and sign off all the paperwork.
There have already been reports, from Sky Sports, that
Souttar is a non-starter because Leicester have no desire to do Leeds a favour.
Positions change, of course, and Leicester have already moved from a stance of
not being able to do the Stefano Sensi signing unless players went out, to
forging ahead with a move for the Inter Milan man. Souttar himself could make
his wishes known to his employer, and the YEP understands that Leeds would be
an attractive proposition for his camp, but with time yet to make something
happen maybe Leeds's apparent hunger for another defender will be best sated
elsewhere.
