Leeds United rivals 'sniffing around' Elland Road icon as Whites prepare to make transfer decision

Leeds United have one last pre-season friendly to host before all their focus shifts to the Championship season. The Whites will take on Valencia before kicking off their 2024/25 campaign at Elland Road, where they will welcome League One champions Portsmouth.

Daniel Farke and his team have until the end of the month to finalise any final summer deals, but Leeds have been pretty active these recent months. Not only have multiple players departed following the expiration of their contracts, the Whites completed the bittersweet sale of Archie Gray.

Almost all of the players who left as free agents have now been snapped up by new clubs, with Luke Ayling signing for Middlesbrough and Jamie Shackleton moving to Sheffield United, for example. One man whose future is not yet decided though, is Liam Cooper. The club legend is also out of contract but as he is between teams, Leeds are yet to formally recognise his departure from Elland Road.

Farke has already confirmed that Cooper will not be returning, and Ethan Ampadu has since taken over the captain’s armband. Leeds are expected to officially confirm the end of Cooper’s tenure when he signs a deal with a new club.

Who that club will be still remains to be seen, but the 32-year-old has been attracting attention from clubs in England and abroad as the new season approaches. Stoke City had been interested in signing Cooper but a change in club hierarchy saw them pursue Ben Gibson instead, who signed a three-year deal in June.

According to Leeds Live, Watford are another Championship rival who have been ‘sniffing around’ Cooper in recent days but their enquiries remain in the basic stages, and are ‘yet to go much further’.

Saudi Arabia club Al-Qadsiah has also shown long-standing interest in Cooper but the defender reportedly rejected a £40,000 per week offer from the Pro League side last summer, according to Phil Hay.