Yorkshire Evening Post 22/6/11
Leeds United Boss keen to ring defensive changes
The facts surrounding Kasper Schmeichel’s proposed sale to Leicester City were confused at best and troubling at worst. When the announcement came, some took it as a sign of Leeds United’s willingness to trade valuable players as soon as the price was right.
The club’s manager, Simon Grayson, justified the deal by stating it would maximise the return on a goalkeeper whose contract expires in 2012. Grayson claimed there was no prospect of extending that contract; Schmeichel reacted with surprise, saying no offer had ever been put to him.
The only certainty was that a transfer involving Schmeichel had not been mooted at the Dane’s request.
News of the agreement and the financial considerations behind it raised the question of what might happen if other prized members of Grayson’s squad attracted persuasive interest as the summer wore on. Robert Snodgrass has already been the subject of one offer from Norwich City and Max Gradel is on the radar of both Swansea City and Hamburg. Newcastle United began monitoring Gradel many months ago.
How likely their departures would be on the back of Schmeichel’s exit is nevertheless a matter of conjecture.
Despite Grayson’s initial comments, sources at Leeds say the decision to negotiate a transfer with Leicester was driven by their manager’s desire to improve a defensive unit which conceded 79 league goals last season and a feeling that more consistent keepers are available in the summer market.
Grayson is thought to have been unconvinced by Schmeichel’s performances over the course of 12 months at Elland Road. The 24-year-old made 40 appearances last season behind a backline which proved to be United’s weakness.
The club held one of the worst defensive records in the Championship while finishing as the league’s second highest scorers, and Grayson is understood to see a change of keeper as a partial, but necessary, step towards addressing that failing.
The Leeds boss moved to clarify his thinking yesterday, saying: “I’m trying to improve the back four or five, and when you concede the number of goals we did, it’s obviously an area where one or two players are vulnerable. We need to change it around.
“There are good options for goalkeepers out there, so this was a footballing decision first and foremost but obviously the Bosman ruling quickens decisions for you. We have other alternatives who will make us better and that’s why you make difficult decisions at times.”
The wisdom of a £1.5m deal with Leicester would be judged on the quality of Schmeichel’s replacement, and Leeds are assessing their options with pre-season training due to begin a week tomorrow. Coventry City keeper Keiren Westwood is a prime target but Sunderland are bidding to sign the Republic of Ireland international and their ability to exceed United’s offer of wages could make his signature unattainable. Huddersfield Town’s Alex Smithies and Burnley’s Lee Grant are more realistic possibilities.
In effect, Schmeichel’s exit will continue the gradual break-up of the team thrown at the Championship by Grayson in August.
United’s manager remarked over the weekend that “wholesale changes” to his squad were unlikely, insisting that the signings “won’t be as many as last summer and nowhere near double figures”, but a clearing of the decks has taken place since the beginning of last season.
Six of the players who started Leeds’ first Championship game against Derby County are no longer present or wanted by the club, and Schmeichel is about to join that number. Grayson is still to make his first summer capture and his line-up for the new term is lacking definite shape with July on the horizon.
Last season ended with the release of several players on whom Grayson had relied heavily in the past – Bradley Johnson, Neil Kilkenny, Richard Naylor and Shane Higgs – but the agreement with Leicester for Schmeichel heralds the first unforeseen departure from Elland Road.
With United prepared to sanction the move, the club’s supporters will wait to see how much interest Leeds show in subsequent bids for Snodgrass and Gradel.
Snodgrass attracted an offer of around £3m from Norwich earlier this month, an approach which Leeds rejected. Gradel – United’s player of the year last season – is a sought-after winger on account of the strongest year of his career as a professional and 18 goals in the Championship last season.
Both are central to Grayson’s plans for next season.
Asked about Snodgrass’ future, Grayson said: “Nothing’s moved on from 10 days ago when we turned down an approach from Norwich. It’s testament to him that he’s worth that sort of money and we think he’s worth more than that.
“We don’t want to sell our best players but, ultimately, every player has his price whether he’s at Leeds United, Manchester United or Real Madrid. We’re not actively looking to sell our players and if they are to be sold then it has to be at our valuation, not anyone else’s. We’ll do what’s right for the club.”
Gradel’s situation is particularly uncertain with his contract, like Schmeichel’s, entering its final year. The former Leicester trainee stated in April that he was interested in negotiating a new deal and tying himself to Elland Road beyond the end of the 2011-12 term.
Grayson, meanwhile, is waiting to see an influx of new players having presided over a minor exodus since May 8. He currently faces the prospect of starting pre-season training next Thursday with gaps in several areas of his squad, most significantly the centre of midfield.
“We’ve got a bit of work to do,” he conceded. “In the first week of the summer we could easily have gone and got a couple of players, but they might not have been better than what we’ve got.
“You need to wait for players to weigh up their options and most clubs don’t do anything until the days before you get back for pre-season.”

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