McDermott rubbishes midfielder link.
Brian McDermott today dismissed speculation linking the whites' with a move for David Bentley.
The former Arsenal, Spurs and Blackburn man is desperately seeking a new club having been released by Tottenham at the end of the season but it seems unlikely he will be coming to West Yorkshire despite the player apparently open to a switch to Elland Road.
McDermott warned of the danger of "stockpiling" players and claimed Bentley, still just 29 is too similar to what we've already got here.
"You can’t take someone just because they are an easy deal,” said McDermott.
"We’ve got Ross McCormack in there and we’ve got El-Hadji Diouf in there, and they are similar players.
"I think David Bentley is a good player, but they’re here and in that mould and the last thing you want to do is stockpile players in the same position. That isn’t right."
McDermott is in an inevitable position given the tight budgetary constraints at Elland Road, it appears unless some major investment is forthcoming then he will have to offload one of the many unwanted players signed by previous managers who currently clog up the payroll.
The likes of David Norris and Danny Pugh are not even remotely part of McDermott's vision, however they still pick up a wage from Leeds every week. McDermott did manage to get rid of another misfit last week when Ryan Hall joined Sheffield United on loan, but this is just for a month.
But like our rivals in the Steel City, could we be set for a cash injection from Saudi? Rumours today swept the Internet that Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia is seeking a significant investment in the club.
Leeds are thought to be close to signing a striker on loan, with the names Nicky Maynard, Ricardo Vaz Te, Luciano Becchio and Billy Sharp all in the hat but in Sharps' case it appears he is close to joining Reading.