Is it finally all over for big Steve "the shift" Morison at Leeds United? Rumours are growing that he's on the verge of rejoining Millwall for a third-time.
The former Northampton Town reject turned paper-shredder cum modern-day Millwall legend is surely one if the most decisive figures in recent times at Elland Road? Some fans point to his miserly five goals in 41 appearances for the club whilst tigers acknowledge his tremendous workrate on the pitch which earned him the nickname "the shift".
But whether you desire at grafter or a goal scorer it looks like time will soon be up at Leeds for Morison, with his spiritual home at the New Den calling for a third-time?
Morison enjoyed the finest time of his career so far in South Bermondsey, grabbing 35 league goals in 83 appearances which earned him a big money move to Norwich City in 2011. Two years later, he was a Leeds United player in what turned out to be a disastrous swop deal involving Luciano Becchio.
Morison did manage three-goals at the back-end of the 2012/13 season in a white-shirt, but the departure of the man who signed him Neil Warnock proved significant. Brian McDermott clearly didn't rate him and in order to get him off the wage-bill so McDermott could bring in Noel Hunt (who didn't even manage a single goal for Leeds), Morison spent the 2013/14 season on-loan at Millwall managing eight-goals in 41 appearances for the Lions.
The 31-year-old greyhound racing fanatic has just one-year left on his contract and I think Leeds are now in a similar situation as they were two-summers ago. The summer recruitment drive has dried-up so in order to bring some fresh-blood in, Uwe Rosler needs to trim the squad and reduce the wage bill. I'd guess Morison is on a decent salary at Elland Road, probably in the region of £12-15k a week so Leeds would be as well to move him on for a nominal-fee particularly as we now have Lee Erwin & Chris Wood on board.
Nicky Ajose is another forward expected to leave, the former Manchester United and Peterborough man spent most of last season on-loan at Crewe Alexander.
On the incoming front, centre-half Mike Williamson of Newcastle United has been mentioned more than once. This was the player former Leeds coach John Carver accused of getting himself deliberately sent-off last season at Leicester when Carver was in charge of the Toon. However Carver appears to have retracted this statement in today's Telegraph by claiming his comments were now "embarrassing" and he was applying reverse psychology in trying to get a reaction from his players.