284-game Leeds United legend 'offered' to crisis-ridden Championship club as transfer embargo lifted
Liam Cooper only left Leeds United for Bulgaria 11 months ago but could be on the move again.
Leeds United promotion hero Liam Cooper has reportedly been offered to Sheffield Wednesday as the Championship club attempt to recruit under tight financial restrictions.
Wednesday were under a transfer embargo until last week, having regularly failed to pay players and staff, but can now sign targets without paying a fee. That restricts the threadbare Owls to free agents or loan signings but they are expected to be very busy between now and September 1.
Manager Henrik Pedersen recently revealed more than 60 players were put to him during a recent recruitment meeting and among them appears to have been Cooper. The Guardian reported over the weekend that Leeds’ former Championship title-winning captain had been mentioned to Hillsborough chiefs following his CSKA Sofia exit.
Cooper only left Leeds for Sofia last September but the Bulgarian club confirmed last month his two-year contract had been terminated by mutual consent. The 33-year-old played 24 games overall and was of interest to a number of Championship clubs before his decision to move overseas 11 months ago.
A return to the Championship could now be on the cards with Cooper and recent Brentford exit Ben Mee both offered to Wednesday, according to the Guardian. Local outlet The Star also mention those reports, adding that loan options and free agents are being looked at with business possible in the coming days.
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While Cooper’s move to CSKA Sofia didn’t appear to go as planned, the Scottish centre-back boasts plenty of experience across the Championship and Premier League. He played a total of 284 times for Leeds, captaining them to the 2019/20 second-tier title and a ninth-placed top-flight finish under Marcelo Bielsa.
Liam Cooper’s Leeds United experience a big pull
He remained captain as Premier League relegation loomed a couple of years later but fell down the pecking order under new manager Daniel Farke, having picked up an injury while scoring against Cardiff City on the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign. Appearances under the German were sporadic but he remained an important dressing room figure.
That experience could prove crucial for a Wednesday side who have been cleared out amid ongoing financial issues. First-team regulars such as Josh Windass, Djeidi Gassama, Michael Smith, Akin Famewo and many more have moved on, with the Owls left with little choice but to promote Under-21 players.
Former Leeds man Barry Bannan was sent off during Wednesday’s 2025/26 opening-weekend defeat to Leicester City and will serve a one-match ban, while other experienced options like Nathaniel Chalobah and Yan Valery are injured. Experience is likely to be a crucial attribute of any new arrivals in South Yorkshire.
Leeds are expected to wave goodbye to more Bielsa-era promotion winners this summer, with neither Patrick Bamford nor Illan Meslier in Farke’s plans for next season. Striker Bamford hasn’t been involved in first-team pre-season while Meslier was left out of the squad that drew 1-1 with AC Milan on Saturday, with new signing Lucas Perri claiming his No.1 shirt, Karl Darlow preferred as a back-up option and Alex Cairns third choice.