Leeds United 'set to sign' goalkeeper on three-year contract amid Man Utd and Sunderland interest
Leeds United will reportedly tie up a deal for the academy prospect.
Leeds United have reportedly beaten Manchester United and Sunderland in the race for teenage Australian goalkeeper Robbie Cook.
Journalist Alan Nixon reports that Cook has been on trial at Thorp Arch in recent weeks, with Leeds set to snap up the promising young shot-stopper. The 17-year-old was also thought to be of interest to Championship rivals Sunderland and Premier League giants Manchester United, but both are expected to miss out.
Nixon provided more detail on his private Patreon page, claiming Cook will put pen to paper on a three-year deal in West Yorkshire. The teenager is expected to join up at academy-level, rather than being drafted straight into the first-team picture.
Cook is yet to make a senior appearance for his current club, Perth Glory, but has attracted plenty of interest and flew over to the UK for trials in the summer. The goalkeeper was being assessed by Sunderland at the time and while the Black Cats remain interested, Leeds look set to win the race.
Due to his dad being from England, Cook holds a British passport and so is able to move over from Australia with little fuss. And summer reports surrounding Sunderland’s interest claim the shot-stopper is ‘desperate’ to make his mark in the UK.
Should Cook indeed come in as a Leeds signing, he will have plenty of obstacles en route to any kind of future first-team involvement. Even at under-21 level, 18-year-old Rory Mahady continues to impress and is keeping 21-year-old Harry Christy out of the team. Christy signed a one-year contract extension with the Whites in July.
Leeds have three senior options in the goalkeeping ranks as well, with long-standing first-choice Illan Meslier joined by Welsh international Karl Darlow and summer arrival Alex Cairns. But at only 17, Cook is clearly an investment for the future and interest from the likes of Sunderland and Manchester United suggest the Australian has plenty of potential.
Some of Leeds’ most influential players in recent years were signed as relative unknowns, with those deals coming to look like incredible bargains a few years down the line. Crysencio Summerville left Feyenoord for Elland Road in 2020, costing just £1.3million before an outstanding Championship campaign saw him sold for £28m - a release clause figure many viewed as a great deal for West Ham.
Similarly, Struijk arrived from Ajax’s academy as an 18-year-old back in 2018, with the defender out of contract and therefore signing as a free agent. The Dutchman has since gone on to establish himself as one of the Championship’s best defenders and a key dressing room figure at Leeds, even taking on the captain’s armband in Ethan Ampadu’s absence. He has recently been linked to three Premier League clubs including Tottenham Hotspur.