Leeds United are stepping up their preparation for the new Championship season as they look to secure promotion back to the top flight after playoff heartbreak last season, and have identified a new midfield option for Daniel Farke.
The latest on Gnonto and Summerville
When Leeds failed to secure a return to the top flight in May, there was an expectation that they would lose Championship player of the season Crysencio Summerville and perhaps even Italian winger Wilfried Gnonto.
But midway through the transfer window, both are still at Elland Road, with Gnonto's potential move to Everton seemingly having fallen through and the elite-level interest reportedly shown in Summerville yet to materialise into anything concrete.
“We need to be there with smart decisions and, overall, no anxiety because there are many players who want to play for this Leeds shirt.", Farke explained when quizzed on the pair potentially departing in the coming month.
“If one or two players leave, I am pretty sure we will find some good solutions. I hope, at the moment, our best solutions stay.”
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Now, they could have found one solution for Glen Kamara's departure, after the Finnish midfielder joined Rennes.
Leeds register interest in Wales starlet
That is none other than Birmingham City midfielder Jordan James, who has impressed for the Bluebirds in recent seasons. The Wales international is still just 20 years old but has already racked up 11 appearances for the Welsh national side, while he passed 100 Birmingham appearances in the final weeks of the 2023/24 campaign.
In 10 of those international appearances, he was stationed in midfield alongside current Leeds United man Ethan Ampadu, while he has also appeared nine times with Joe Rodon, meaning that were he to make the Elland Road switch he would have little problem settling in. Dan James is another member of Craig Bellamy's Wales squad currently playing football at Elland Road.
Jordan James 2023/24 Championship campaign
Appearances
42
Goals
8
Assists
0
Yellow Cards
10
Though his side were relegated to League One at the end of last season, James is considered a major future talent and former Wales boss Rob Page didn't hold back in his praise of the youngster.
"He reads the game well, he’s athletic, he likes a tackle, he can pass the ball, he can head it,’ said Page ‘He ticks a lot of boxes; he has got everything. He is a great lad and he wants to work hard. He has got potential and we’re going to help him achieve that."
He has previously been linked to Premier League side Ipswich Town as well as Europa League winners Atalanta, but Leeds will be hoping to steal a march on the pair of them with the offer of more consistent playing time. Previous reports have claimed that any move for James this summer will set the successful club back in excess of £10m.
Football Insider report that Leeds have "registered their interest" in the goalscoring midfielder as they look to replace Glen Kamara in Farke's engine room, and that Birmingham could be "forced" to sell him in order to balance their books after significant spending this summer with James down to the final 12 months of his £2k per week deal at St Andrews, though the club to have the option to extend his contract by a further year.
It remains to be seen whether they firm up that interest, but James would certainly fit the bill for signings at Elland Road this summer, with new faces added with an eye to the future as much as to the present.