Here are the latest Leeds United transfer rumours on Saturday, May 14.
Ferdinand rules out any chance of Phillips emulation
The history between Leeds and Manchester United makes a transfer between the two clubs unforgivable from a supporter’s perspective. The few players who have swapped the white rose for the red one have been met with plenty of hostility, making it an almost impossible move to make nowadays.
When rumours surfaced of the Red Devils’ interest in Kalvin Phillips, a selection of Leeds fans feared the worst while others felt he would never agree such a deal. One man who knows all about that move, Rio Ferdinand, agrees with the latter as he claimed that it is a different situation to when he left Elland Road.
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“I don’t think Kalvin Phillips is a name that should be associated with Manchester United,” he said on his Vibe with Five podcast. “I just think he’s a Leeds boy.
“The rivalry between the fans, his family all lived there, it’s different to when I left and went to United, very different. I had no family in Leeds other than my cousin and it wasn’t a problem for them. So it was very different and I don’t see Kalvin Phillips going to United. If he does, it would be the biggest surprise for me.”
Robinson urges Gelhardt to seal Leeds departure
There has been desperation from supporters for the majority of the season to see Joe Gelhardt included in the starting XI more often. He was brought into the side for the trip to Arsenal but was sacrificed for a defensive player following Luke Ayling’s first-half sending off.
The 20-year-old was then not in the team for the Chelsea defeat and Paul Robinson believes he should look to leave the club if he doesn’t feel he is getting adequate game time. He told MOT Leeds News : “Why they’ve tried to make do with Rodrigo, Dan James, et cetera and playing different formations when they can play the same formation but put Gelhardt there.
“I don’t know why they haven’t done it. He’s more than good enough to play in the Premier League and if he’s not going to get his opportunity at Leeds then he should maybe look at moving on.
“There’ll be no shortage of takers for him and he’s at an age now where he needs to play whether that’s in the Premier League or in the top-half of the Championship. He could score 25 goals a season in the Championship for a top club.”
Leeds eyeing young Spanish striker
Despite the first-team recruitment being widely questioned at Leeds, the recruitment of young players has been excellent in the last couple of seasons. A handful of the country’s best talents have moved to West Yorkshire with the Whites clearly placing an emphasis on improving the development squad.
The next youngster who has been earmarked by those in charge of transfers is Real Zaragoza forward Ivan Azon. According to Heraldo in Spain, the 19-year-old is one of the players being closely followed by Leeds scouts in Europe.
After a start to the season which consisted largely of substitute appearances, he has scored six goals in his last 10 games in the Spanish second tier. If he was to be signed by Leeds, the initial intention would likely to give him time to settle in the U23 squad before, hopefully, proving he is worthy of first-team exposure.
