Liam Bridcutt would like to come back to Elland Road, but his wages are likely to be a stmbling block, as will the fee that Sunderland are likely to demand.

The midfielder had hoped that he might find a way back into first team contention at Sunderland once Sam Allardyce had left to take the England job, only to find that new manager David Moyes is no more inclined to include him in his plans. Bridcutt has been omitted from the squad that has gone to France for a pre-season tour.

The Yorkshire Post are claiming that “sources” are telling them that Bridcutt is now keen to return to Leeds, yet we have already held talks with his present club without reaching an agreement. Even though Sunderland are now looking to offload Bridcutt, they are still looking for a fee of over £1.5m, and then there is the small matter of his current wages of £26,000 a week.

His present contract still has a year to run, so we will just have to hope that he will agree to a cut in wages to be able to secure first team football, and he certainly doesn’t look like the type who will just sit on his current deal for 12 months just to pick up the cash.

Aston Villa have also been reported to have been interested in Bridcutt, but the player himself is known to prefer to come back to Leeds after his successful loan spell last season.

There is no doubt that the midfield looked far more solid once he had arrived last season, and we will need a bit of quality in that area after the departure of Lewis Cook. And at 27, Bridcutt will add some much needed experience to what is still a relatively young Leeds squad.

With Sunderland wanting to get him off their wage bill, there must be a good chance that we can do the deal soon enough to see him back in a Leeds shirt at the start of the season.

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