Leeds United welcomed one full-back through the door last week and could now wave goodbye to another.
Isaac Schmidt is close to securing himself a loan switch to Werder Bremen amid reports a deal has now been agreed with Leeds United.
Schmidt’s prospective move to Germany has been on hold for several weeks, with the full-back reportedly agreeing terms from his side at the end of last month. Leeds were thought to be open to such a move but first wanted to source a replacement, with the Swiss international and Sam Byram all Daniel Farke had as cover for Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson.
Leeds found that replacement last week, signing Leicester City’s James Justin to a four-year contract in a deal worth £8million plus a further £2m of potential add-ons. And that looks to have paved the way for Schmidt’s exit, with Sky Sports now reporting a deal has been agreed for the defender to join Werder Bremen on loan for the season.
Werder Bremen also have an option to buy Schmidt at the end of his loan spell for a fee in the region of £3.5m, which would represent a slight profit for Leeds, who signed the 25-year-old for £2.5m last summer. The full-back is expected in Germany today for medical tests ahead of completing the move.
Despite making a raft of changes for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, Farke opted to leave Schmidt out of the squad entirely, a suggestion the former St Gallen man was on his way out. Leeds instead had Byram at right-back and Jack Harrison at left-back.
Schmidt is yet to feature in competitive action for Leeds this season, having only started twice in pre-season while first-choice right-back Bogle was injured. The back-up defender struggled in both games against Villarreal and AC Milan, the latter coming directly up against his international teammate Noah Okafor.
Last season, the £2.5m summer arrival made 12 Championship appearances but all of them came from the bench, totalling just 78 minutes. The defender’s only starts came in FA Cup meetings against Harrogate Town and Millwall.
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His replacement Justin was also not involved at Hillsborough on Tuesday, although the game only came 24 hours after his move from Leicester was confirmed. The England international could be in the squad to face Newcastle United this weekend, with Farke expected to provide an update on the state of his group later today.
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Leeds confirmed the £3.45m sale of Sam Greenwood yesterday evening, while Mateo Joseph, Max Wober and Joe Gelhardt have also gone out on loan. Reports suggest Largie Ramazani could follow amid talks with Valencia, while the likes of Illan Meslier and Patrick Bamford could also move on before Monday’s deadline.
With regards to incomings, Farke has refused to rule out late business with attacking reinforcements still being worked on. Leeds have only spent £18m in forward areas so far, all of which went on Okafor with Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both arriving as free agents.
Leeds could still look for more wide options, particularly if Ramazani is loaned out, while a No.10 has long been on Farke’s shopping list. A third striker arrival could also present itself.
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