Leeds United target absent from pre-season opener amid transfer stalemate
Leeds United’s transfer pursuit of Shea Charles is ongoing but has been far from simple.
Leeds United transfer target Shea Charles was not in the Southampton squad on Saturday for their pre-season opener against Eastleigh.
Charles has been the subject of transfer offers from Elland Road this summer, the latter reportedly worth up to £25million. The 22-year-old is also believed to be of interest to Premier League rivals Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Leeds and Southampton have remained in talks over Charles but appear to be locked in a stalemate as things stand. The south coast club are thought to value their midfielder art around £30m, an amount which hasn’t yet arrived in the form of a bid.
Charles returned from his summer holidays to report for Southampton’s pre-season last week, a little later than most due to his June international commitments with Northern Ireland. But the Leeds summer target was not involved for his side’s first friendly.
Southampton beat non-league neighbours Eastleigh 3-1 with a strong squad including Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Leo Scienza and £9m summer signing Lewis Dobbin. Saints boss Tonda Eckert opted to name two completely different line-ups for either half but Charles was not present in either.
Having only returned for pre-season last week - later than many of his teammates - the likelihood is Charles was deemed not fit enough to feature yet. Striker Ben Brereton Diaz was another seemingly not physically ready to feature while attacking midfielder Finn Azaz missed out with a minor injury.
Southampton’s next pre-season friendly is against German side Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday, the first of two matches during a pre-season training camp in Germany. It remains to be seen if Charles will be available for that game.
The former Manchester City academy graduate remains a target for Leeds, who last week wrapped up their first fee-paying transfer of the summer. Centre-back Tarik Muharemovic joined in a £34m deal from Sassuolo, following free agent arrival Harry Wilson as the second addition to Daniel Farke’s squad.