Leeds United look as though they may need to brace themselves this summer for bids for some of their key players.
The most likely to be the subject of a bid, you would imagine, would be Pascal Struijk. Especially if the defender decides against extending his United contract, which only has a year left on it.
You would imagine players who were on the fringes of Daniel Farke’s squad last season, such as Lucas Perri and Willy Gnonto, will also be the subject of interest from elsewhere.
Whilst this may not concern supporters, the fact that Chelsea are reportedly interested in Gabriel Gudmundsson will. And the United defender was recently asked about the potential move.
Gabriel Gudmundsson leaves door open for Leeds United exit
With Marc Cucurella leaving Chelsea to join Real Madrid, the West London outfit are on the hunt for a replacement.
Gudmundsson is said to be one of the players Chelsea are said to be discussing for a potential move.
Ahead of Sweden’s final World Cup group game against Japan, Gudmundsson was directly asked about the Chelsea links.
Whilst his answer was diplomatic, he refused to rule out the move, which will surely concern Leeds supporters.
“Of course, it’s an acknowledgement that you’re doing something good. And then of course, all the focus is on the national team here. So that’s all I can comment on,” Gudmundsson said at the pre-match press conference.
The 27-year-old only joined us from Lille last summer, with his contract running until 2029. But the way he seemingly left the door open to a move to Chelsea suggests he may be planning to leave a lot sooner.
Hopefully, Chelsea’s interest does not escalate even further, as losing Gudmundsson this summer would be a major blow.
49ers must be resolute amid Gabriel Gudmundsson interest
It feels like we have been shortchanged over recent years when our key players have left.
Obviously, a lot of those players have left due to release clauses, but equally, some major players didn’t have these clauses in their contracts, and I still think we could have demanded more.
Kalvin Phillips was sold for just £45million when he was England’s best holding midfielder.
We also got just £25million for Crysencio Summerville, fresh off the winger absolutely tearing up the Championship.
My point is, if Gudmundsson is the subject of a bid from Chelsea this summer, we need to be stubborn negotiators.
Clubs like Brighton do this so well, and we need to take a leaf out of their book.
We signed Gudmundsson for around £10million from Lille, and with three years still remaining on his contract, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be getting at least £30million for him, based on the impressive first season he enjoyed in the Premier League.
Whilst my preference would be to keep him, Chelsea have been known in recent years to splash their cash foolishly.
So if a monumental bid of £50million or something like that turns up at our door, I’d quickly accept it first before they have a chance to reconsider their actions.
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