Good Morning. It's Thursday 19th December, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Meslier linked with Gunners moveArsenal are reportedly considering a surprise move for Leeds shot-stopper Illan Meslier in January according to
respected football Journalist Steve Kay. He revealed that the Gunners are eyeing a new goalkeeper with Meslier being a potential target stating that while the information didn't come from one of his top sources, it's still a lead worth exploring. This rumour comes as Arsenal aims to bolster their squad for a potential title push. With Leeds United also hoping to return to the Premier League, the upcoming transfer window is expected to be busy for both teams.
Genoa linked with Bamford loanSerie A outfit Genoa are the latest club to be linked with a January move for Leeds forgotten made Patrick Bamford. The one time England ace cannot be happy at Elland Road. He's accumulated just 102 minutes of game time this season, and with nothing to show for it - is set to fall further down the pecking order. Given his age, and injury concerns, the likelihood of playing beyond 33-34yrs is highly unlikely, so the last thing he'll want to do is to spend his final playing years rotting on the bench.
Bamford, 31, has 18 months left on his contract, and is reportedly Leeds most highly paid player at £40,000 per week. With Leeds expected to win promotion this season, he will not want to miss out on one last big pay day. His salary is expected to over double (£90,000 pw or £390,000 pm) once Leeds are back in the big time, but for the immediate future at-least, a loan move could suit all parties.
Bamford was decent from the bench - CrossBeren Cross believes the door is ajar for Patrick Bamford to make an impact during the second half of the season. In the build up to the Oxford game, the Leeds-Live journalist described Bamford's performance as 'decent from the bench' whilst both Joseph and Piroe 'fail to string together consistently impactful performances'.
Whether Cross has had too much Christmas sherry or just trying to seek a reaction from the Leeds massive (don't you just hate it when that happens) is up for debate, but with 14 goals and six assists in the last three and a half seasons, the chances of a complete transformation in form seem remote.
While he missed one of the clearer chances of his career on Saturday, Patrick Bamford was decent from the bench. While Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe fail to string together consistently impactful performances in attack, the door is ajar for Bamford to prove he can be the man for Farke into 2025.
However, the 31-year-old has only been used from the bench in three of the last eight games, amounting to 55 minutes of pitch time. Does Farke feel any need to ramp up the number nine’s minutes in order to make him a realistic candidate for starts?
