Leeds prepared to move for ‘mesmerizing’ £10m player – Sky journalist

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Leeds United have been busy in the summer transfer window, with plenty of new arrivals and more on the way.

The Whites have already signed Joel Piroe, Ethan Ampadu, Djed Spence, Karl Darlow, Sam Byram and Joe Rodon.

And at the time of writing, Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev were reportedly on the way to Leeds for medicals ahead of joining.

We’ve had other names doing the rounds on the Elland Road rumour mill, such as Genk’s Joseph Paintsil.

Ghanasoccernet recently reported that Leeds couldn’t agree terms with the player or the club.

As a result, the move seemingly fell through, but according to Tim Thornton, it’s not dead in the water.

‘They’ve got options’

The Sky Sports journalist, writing on GiveMeSport, reckons Leeds could still move to sign Paintsil.

This could happen if they lose the services of Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra before Friday’s deadline.

“He’s one that they’ve been looking at, and a lot of discussions have gone on,” said Thornton.

“But the situation is complicated because they don’t know who they will lose. I would expect Gnonto to stay, but who knows?

“If somebody came in with a huge bid between now and the window closing, they’d have to consider it and the same with Sinisterra.

“So, I think they’ve got to have plans in place, with a plan A and plan B.

“Paintsil is one they’ve tried to get in, but I think he’s more a case of ‘Let’s see what happens now.’

“Because if they lose Sinisterra, they might need to replace him before the window closes.

“So, I don’t think they can leave it until two hours before the transfer window closes before they start looking at options.

“They’ve got options, and he’s certainly one of them. But, again, the difficulty has been in trying to get him out of his club and into the Championship.”

Our view

Even though the Paintsil to Leeds negotiations appear to have fallen through, they could well be rekindled again.

Obviously if the player moves elsewhere in the next 30 hours or so, then that’ll be it for Leeds.

However, if the Whites do lose one or two of their current wingers, they may spring into action again to replace them.

Paintsil certainly wouldn’t be a bad shout. The £10million-rated player has experience at the highest level.

Earlier this year, scouting outlet Breaking the Lines described him as a player ‘annoyingly elusive for opposition defenders.

‘Once he gets going, it is nearly impossible to stop him in full-flight.

‘His technical ability on the ball is simply unrivaled, capable of turning any number of defenders inside out when he has the ball at his feet.

‘He scores for fun, ruining defences on his own, and his skill is mesmerizing.’

It has been a busy summer on the transfer front for Leeds, and there’s a good chance there will be movement right into the final minutes.