Leeds United are now preparing for a pre-season clash with Nottingham Forest following defeat to AS Monaco.
The Whites are now stepping up their summer preparations with the new campaign less than two weeks away. Though, there is plenty of work to be done behind the scenes, with Daniel Farke needing to add to his squad following a number of loan exits this summer. Leeds are likely to press on with new signings across the week and next
With that in mind, we have rounded up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Elland Road.
Poulsen meeting
Leeds are reportedly set to meet with RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen over a possible transfer
.That’s according to Yenicag, who say the Whites have already made an offer for the forward, who has just one offer on the table. It’s reported that Poulsen is now expected to meet with Leeds ahead of a possible transfer.
RB Leipzig are likely to sanction a deal for the 29-year-old, who has scored 70 goals in 280 league appearances for the club since 2013.
FIFA regulations permit clubs to make seven incoming and seven outgoing international loans during the course of the season. Leeds currently have five players out on loan at foreign sides: Robin Koch, Brenden Aaronson, Diego Llorente, Rasmus Kristensen and Marc Roca, with Max Wober in line to become the sixth if he completes a temporary move to German side Monchengladbach.
News of Wober’s prospective transfer arose following his absence from Leeds’ friendly versus AS Monaco last weekend. The Austrian international played no part in the 2-0 defeat, having informed the club he intended to depart this season, having only signed in January from FC Red Bull Salzburg in a £10 million move.
Should Wober become the third Leeds player to join a Bundesliga club on loan this summer after Koch and Aaronson, that will leave one remaining outgoing international loan the club can make during 2023/24. That is per FIFA regulations which stipulate: “From 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, a club may have a maximum of eight professionals loaned out and eight loaned in at any given time during a season
“From 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, the same configuration applies but with a maximum of seven professionals.”
A Wober exit would likely force Leeds into pursuing sales, rather than loans, for the remaining wantaway members of Daniel Farke’s squad, unless moves could be agreed with clubs in the United Kingdom, as FIFA do not regulate domestic loans.
James message
Dan James has issued a confident Leeds message and Whites player backing ahead of the new Championship season under new boss Daniel Farke.
Wales international winger James is back at Elland Road after last season’s loan spell at Fulham as part of a season in which the Cottagers sealed a tenth-placed finish as the winger’s parent club Leeds were relegated in finishing second-bottom.
James, though, says the mood in the squad is now “great” ahead of the new Championship campaign and that United’s squad possesses the players capable of implementing new boss Farke’s bold footballing plan.
James started as Leeds took in their latest pre-season friendly against visiting AS Monaco on Saturday in which the Whites fell to a 2-0 defeat as a second-half penalty from Wissam Ben Yedder was followed by a looping Kevin Volland header.
But James says United’s possession-based attacking intent under Farke was there for all to see and that his side will only improve as they gain more fitness ahead of the new campaign.
“We have definitely shown the way he wants to play,” said James to LUTV. “We want to be a team that dominates possession. You can’t always go full out and win the ball back but I think we want to be a high pressing team, we want to win the ball back and I think as soon as we lose it we want to win it back straight away and we’ve got the players to do it. As we get fitter we will get much better at it.”
