Leeds reject Newcastle bid for midfield maestro Fabian Delph as Arsenal continue to circle - Mail 4/11/08

Leeds chairman Ken Bates has confirmed that the Elland Road club has  rejected a recent bid from Newcastle for Fabian Delph.

The 18-year-old midfielder has attracted interest from Premier League clubs following a string of fine displays in his breakthrough season with the League One outfit.

Arsenal have been constantly linked with a bid for the England Under 19 international, but chairman Bates says that the Magpies have already made a move for the talented youngster.

"I'm still amazed at a recent offer Newcastle made for Fabian," Bates told Yorkshire Radio. "I won't tell you the content of the fax we sent back but it did end the conversation.

"It's inevitable if the team does well predatory upper league clubs will try their luck without success.

"Fabian Delph will be moving to Premier League - but we hope he'll be moving with us via the Championship.

"He signed a four-year contract until 2012 and he doesn't want to go anywhere."

Meanwhile, Bates is refusing to rule out selling out-of-favour Bradley Johnson when the transfer window reopens in January.

Johnson, who is currently enjoying a successful loan spell with Brighton, has been linked with Championship clubs QPR, Cardiff and Southampton

"One of the clubs reportedly interested in Bradley couldn't do anything anyway," he continued.

"Gary McAllister will look at where he feels he needs to strengthen and what players are surplus to requirements."

Delph was born in Bradford and began his career in football as a trainee at Bradford City.

Delph left City in September 2001 to join Leeds United. He went to Tong Secondary School, which he left in 2006 to sign a two-year scholarship with Leeds United, at the age of 16 years old.

In March 2008, Delph started his international career, making his debut as a substitute for the England Under 19s.

After a string of impressive performances in Spring 2008, Delph was made captain of the Leeds Reserves.

He was given his debut at Leeds as a substitute in the final match of the 2006–07 season against Derby County on May 6, 2007. He was awarded his first professional contract on 11 January 2008. Delph made two appearances for Leeds in the 2007–08 season, both as a substitute.

Delph impressed in the 2008–09 pre-season friendly against Barnet, and has since been a permanent fixture in Gary McAllister's promotion-chasing side.

 

Yorkshire Evening Post 2/11/08

Prutton is staying positive

By Phil Hay

David Prutton believes automatic promotion from League One will be won and lost on the road this season – and says Leeds United must prove they are not a "soft touch" away from Elland Road.

The midfielder fears that a mediocre away record could expose Leeds to the lottery of the play-offs for a second year running in May, but he expects the club to come to terms quickly with the stern resistance they are encountering on their travels.

United were under pressure to end a sequence of four straight away losses, including three League One matches, during yesterday's visit to Cheltenham Town, and their disappointing string of results has been a complete contrast to the consistency shown by Gary McAllister's players at Elland Road. Leeds have recorded seven home wins in a row and were three points away from the top of their division before kick-off yesterday, but Prutton wants United to take a grip of the league by imposing themselves on clubs away from their own stadium. McAllister's side surrendered three points at Peterborough United, Millwall and Southend United last month, and United's boss described the form as a "concern" following Tuesday night's 1-0 loss at Southend. Prutton agreed with McAllister's verdict, saying: "We want to be a team that uses our home advantage by playing well and moving the ball about, but we have to show that we're not a soft touch away from home. "There have been times when we've had chances to do that and haven't taken them. I'm all for playing good football, and I think the fans enjoy the way that we're playing this season, but you also have to make sure you're no push-overs. "The away record might be the difference between being in the top two at the end of the season or coming third. These things are hugely important and as the season progresses, a good team will get onto a roll. "We had a great six or seven-game spell in September when we stayed unbeaten, and then we went to Peterborough and lost.   "You see the way they celebrated afterwards and think 'Christ, that's only one league game!' It was the same at Southend on Tuesday and the same at Millwall. "But in the grand scheme of things, it is important to them, and I think these teams get a sense of pride from beating Leeds United.   "The sooner we get our heads around that, the better we'll be away from home, but I'm confident we'll do that. "There's a real positivity from us at Elland Road, and a couple of the home games have had four or five written all over them.   "You can see the confidence and the stature of the team. "Away from home, we're going to grounds that aren't like Elland Road and we've got a mindset telling us that it's going to be tough.   "But any team worth its salt and who wants to get promoted has to realise that and deal with it." Prutton has been forced to watch much of United's fluctuating season from the sidelines after seeing other players fight their way in McAllister's side ahead of him. The midfielder was a crucial member of the club's squad last term and won himself a contract extension at the start of the season, but he started only three league games during the first three months of this term. His position is indicative of the vast number of midfielders available to McAllister – a group so large that Leeds were able to release Bradley Johnson and Ian Westlake on loan last month – but Prutton admitted United's prominent league position was making it virtually impossible for their manager to make wholesale changes to his team. Prutton said: "Last season was very enjoyable and, to be fair, I've been out of a winning team this season. We've been very fluid. "It's frustrating that I've not been in the side but when a team's playing well there's not a lot you can say about it. "The important thing is to make sure you're ready to get involved if we reach a batch of games where we're not performing to our full potential. "Every player believes they should be in the team and I'm no different.   "I believed that last season and I still do. But there are only a certain amount of place up for grabs and the big thing at this club is the number of players who are putting themselves in contention for a shirt. "When a team's winning and you're not part of it, the results don't always feel like you're achievement because you don't have a major influence on what's going on.   "But the way you apply yourself in training is important, and you have to set an example by going about things in the right way. "We all train really well anyway, but if the guys in the first team know that there are people behind them who aren't fading away and won't give them a moment's rest by letting the team pick itself then that has to make everyone sharper."