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Your round-up of the latest Leeds United headlines as kick off against Middlesbrough closes in.
Leeds United will hope to extend their winning record at home and go top of the Championship when Middlesbrough come to town this evening. Daniel Farke’s side briefly climbed into first following Saturday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Derby County, with Burnley and Sheffield United both dropping points either side of them - albeit the latter went back on top with a point at West Brom.
Burnley managed just a point at home to this evening’s Elland Road visitors and Leeds know all-too-well how dangerous Middlesbrough can be, having already lost 3-0 against Michael Carrick’s side in the Carabao Cup. It’s set to be a huge task for Farke’s side and as we await kick-off, the YEP has rounded up some of the latest stories surrounding the club.
McAtee latest
Leeds summer target James McAtee could be allowed to leave Manchester City in January - although hope of a Championship loan move has suffered a blow. TBR Football claim City could be ‘willing’ to offload the attacking midfielder as part of a swap deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s £87million-rated youngster Florian Wirtz.
Elland Road interest in a No.10 was well-documented all summer with CEO Angus Kinnear confirming loan interest in McAtee, among several other options. Farke expects January to be quiet in West Yorkshire but the German made no secret of his desire for a playmaker in pre-season and that remains a topic of conversation, with Brenden Aaronson out of form.
It remains to be seen whether Leeds will reignite interest in a No.10 but any move for McAtee could be scuppered, with Leverkusen thought to be keen on the 22-year-old. And the report suggests serial Premier League champions City could look to include their academy star, or forward Oscar Bobb, in a mid-season deal for Wirtz.
Greenwood verdict
Former Preston manager Alex Neil has urged the Lilywhites to make Sam Greenwood’s loan deal permanent - so long as they can afford his wages. Greenwood is enjoying life at Deepdale following his season-long loan move, with the attacking midfielder’s four goals and two assists making him the second most productive player in the squad.
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Preston do have an option to buy Greenwood and manager Paul Heckingbottom spoke glowingly of the 22-year-old recently, with things evidently going well for the Leeds loanee. And Neil has suggested his former club should trigger that option, although wages could be an issue, given Greenwood was a Premier League player when he signed his current Elland Road contract.
“I don’t know what the situation is with Preston in terms of [Kaine] Kesler-Hayden or Greenwood, but I would presume they should be two players who Preston could go and get,” Neil told BBC Radio Lancashire. “The issue with Greenwood might be the salary in general. I don’t know where that sits. But, if you are at a club like Leeds, you would imagine that most Leeds players would be on a chunky salary.”
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