Leeds want to sign Premier League left-back, permanent transfer on cards – report MOT Leeds News
Leeds United want to sign Manchester United defender Brandon Williams this summer, according to The Independent.
The newspaper has reported on its website [01 August] that the Whites are considering a move for the Englishman to bolster their left-back options.
It is said that our fiercest rivals would prefer all of their exits to be permanent as they look to raise funds for Erik Ten Hag and his own transfer plans.
Daniel Farke is looking at all options as he looks to get Leeds back to the Premier League at the first time of asking since relegation last season.
Williams would get more first-team opportunities at Elland Road, and he did briefly work under Farke during his loan spell at Norwich City.
Needed.
This would be a contentious signing given the rivalry, but it would also be one that ticks a lot of boxes at Elland Road.
Leeds have not had a real left-back in years that has consistently delivered the goods, with Ezgjan Alioski, a winger, still the best in recent memory under Marcelo Bielsa.
Williams will surely be crying out for regular football, and the chance to start most weeks and fire Leeds back to the Premier League would definitely appeal.
The defender is a hardened Red Devils fan though, and has been outspoken about rivalries in the past, so it would be interesting to see if that changes anything.
Farke has been using Sam Byram and Leo Hjelde at left-back during pre-season, and if we want promotion, a real left-back is needed, and Williams is just that.
This is certainly one to watch as we approach the new Championship season very quickly on Sunday 06 August.
Related development
Firm no: Leeds United need to resist all offers for 23-year-old proving a point at the moment – View
Leeds United centre-back Pascal Struijk is attracting interest from Belgian side Club Brugge this summer as they aim to reinvest recent sales into their defence.
Leeds are just five days away from the start of their Championship season when they take on Cardiff City at home, knowing that Daniel Farke’s squad still needs plenty of work throughout.
The defence has taken a beating in terms of depth this summer as multiple outgoings were confirmed, and now Pascal Struijk is a reported target for Club Brugge – per Sacha Tavolieri
A boost emerged swiftly after, though, with journalist Tomas Taecke revealing that a move is unlikely due to the 23-year-old being “far too expensive” for Club to sign.
Here, we look at two reasons why Leeds need to continue with this high demand for Struijk this summer…
We can’t lose any more centre-backs
Farke said it himself after the win over Nottingham Forest last week, that the squad needs a lot more additions, and outgoings cannot be considered really for the most part (via Leeds Live):
“We definitely need additions also at the centre back position. It will be a long season I know the Championship is the toughest league in the world and at the moment we just have three centre halves so we need to do a little bit, we also a bit thin after the long term injury of the full-back positions.”
This comes after Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, and Max Wöber left the club this summer, leaving Leeds with just three senior centre-backs.
Struijk leaving would give us just one left-footed and one right-footed option at the back, which is not nearly enough for us.
We need more signings, so we have to put our foot down with outgoings too.
