Here are your Leeds United evening headlines for Wednesday, September 7.
Ex-Leeds target denies Birmingham ‘negotiations’
Austrian international midfielder Florian Grillitsch has denied reports that he entered ‘negotiations’ with Championship club Birmingham City.
Italian outlet Corriero Dello Sport reported that Grillitsch and Birmingham had failed to come to ‘an agreement’ during the latter stages of the window. He became a free agent in the summer after his contract with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim expired at the end of last season.
READ MORE: Jesse Marsch makes 'disciplined' admission but insists he didn't 'cross the line' at Brentford
Grillitsch, who joined Ajax on the penultimate day of the summer transfer window, was linked with a move to Leeds and fellow Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. He also spoke to Fiorentina and Galatasaray but Grillitsch has refuted claims that he was in discussions over a potential move to St Andrew’s.
The 27-year-old told Sport1 via Boerse Express: “For sporting reasons, a move to Turkey was out of the question for me. I never spoke to the English second division club Birmingham City, who are said to have cancelled me as well. But I don’t want to complain about such things because I prefer to be self-critical.”
The Daily Mail claimed in May that Grillitsch was on Jesse Marsch’s radar ahead of the imminent departure of Kalvin Phillips. Leeds subsequently looked elsewhere – opting to sign Grillitsch’s former Bundesliga counterparts Tyler Adams and Marc Roca from RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich respectively.
FA charge Leeds and Barnsley for Carabao Cup brawl
Leeds United have been handed a fine of £25,000 following their Carabao Cup second round tie against Barnsley last month.
The punishment relates to an incident in the 67th minute of the contest at Elland Road as Leeds full-back Cody Drameh clashed with Barnsley defender Liam Kitching. The incident sparked a sizeable melee involving players from both sides, which brought a halt to the contest.
John Brooks, the referee on the night, was forced to hand out yellow cards to Drameh and Kitching, while Leo Hjelde was also booked for his part in the scuffle. The FA charged both clubs in the aftermath of the game after deeming they had failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.
Marsch addresses James loan exit
Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has insisted the decision to allow Daniel James to leave was down to footballing reasons. James made the season-long-loan switch to Fulham on deadline day despite having featured in four of Leeds ’ opening five games, missing only the opening day win over Wolves due to suspension.
Marsch had previously claimed that in order to bring someone in towards the end of the window, that someone had to be moved on. That player ended up being James, but the chaos of deadline day meant Leeds were unable to bring in either of their two first-team targets Cody Gakpo and Bamba Dieng.
Marsch told Sky Sports: When it came to the Dan James situation, this was a collective decision and one that I totally support. From a technical perspective, the thought process was is Dan going to get enough minutes that he wanted to help him in his career, where we were at and what it was going to mean for him in his preparation for the World Cup."
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