Despite the sale of our beloved captain and the fans protests about the amounts of money to be invested in dubious property deals instead of the team, Simon Grayson is insisting that he is still in a position to strengthen the squad while the transfer window is still open.
He told the Yorkshire Post “We are not too far away with a couple of deals but things can change quickly. Injury concerns at another club can put you back but if one or two of our targets aren’t available then we move on to other ones. If we can get the players in we want during the next week or so then that will hopefully lift the atmosphere.”
“Hopefully, they will be signings who excite people. There is no point bringing in to make up the numbers. We need players who can affect the team. That is why it can be hard to conclude these deals quickly.” But he was also keen to sing the praises of the players he already had, and claimed that Howson would be the last of the departures. “Sometimes, it is about keeping hold of players that other clubs are allegedly interested in. They won’t be going anywhere. We have a group capable of getting us promoted.”
It has been rumoured that Snodgrass would be the next through the exit door, but the boss denied this. The scot has 18 months of his current deal to go, so the club have not yet opened discussions on whether he will extend it. We have already turned down an offer from Norwich (do they want to sign all our players?) but Grayson feels it will be easier to keep hold of him if we can get into the Premier League. So not much chance of that then, on current form.
One player we’ve been linked with is Leicester midfielder Richie Wellens as Grayson looks to patch up that area of the squad after Howson’s departure, but few Leeds fans will see the 31 year-old as an adequate replacement for a player with his best years still ahead of him. Grayson previously managed the playmaker during his time in charge of Blackpool, and Leicester might cash in on the player after bringing Danny Drinkwater to the club from Manchester United last week.
Finally, Sky are suggesting that LA Galaxy are in talks with Leeds over of Alex Bruce, even though we’re a bit short of fit central defenders at the moment. Bruce has already had a spell on loan to Huddersfield this season.
So there we have it. We live in hope that in the next week we’ll see some signings to set the pulses racing, but I’ll believe it when I see it.