Report: Leeds raid Sunderland for recruitment lead ahead of January window

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The Sunderland Echo have reported that Leeds United have raided League One promotion candidates Sunderland for recruitment lead Paul Midgley, less than a fortnight before the January transfer window opens.

Sunderland are believed to be about to completely overhaul their academy recruitment team after the departure of Midgley, who spent two years at the Stadium of Light. Head of academy recruitment John Tweedy has joined Wolves.

Midgley has little footballing pedigree prior to his two years at Sunderland. He had previously worked in various roles at York City, Stockton Town and at The FA. Now, he is believed to be helping recruitment to the Leeds academy.

It remains to be seen if Leeds will be doing any business in January – either in the first team or in the academy set-up. But if the latter does occur, then Midgley is expected to have a crucial role.

TBR’s view – Young Leeds recruits shining in U-23 squad

The likes of Liam McCarron, Ryan Edmondson, Jordan Stevens, Leif Davis and Bryce Hosannah have all been signed from other clubs and are impressing at Under-23 level, while a handful of those have even earned a senior debut.

From overseas, Pascal Struijk, Mateusz Bogusz and Kun Temenuzhkov are also highly-rated, while Aapo Halme broke into the side before moving to Barnsley in the summer. Leeds’ recruitment at Under-18 and Under-23 level is excellent.

If Midgley is to take over recruitment at that level, then he will have his work cut out to keep standards just as high.