Leeds United's Premier League rivals eye £1m Marcelo Bielsa signing - Elland Road chiefs set to make a profit
Leeds United are open to selling the fringe attacker ahead of their Premier League return.
Out of favour Leeds United attacker Sam Greenwood is reportedly a target for future Premier League rivals Sunderland and recently relegated Leicester City.
Greenwood has spent the last two seasons out on loan, first joining Middlesbrough before spending the 2024/25 campaign at Championship strugglers Preston North End, where he registered seven goals and three assists in 45 appearances. Both had options to sign the attacking midfielder permanently for a fee believed to be around £1.5million, but neither decided to take it up.
The 23-year-old is not expected to take on a role in Daniel Farke’s Premier League squad next season but could walk out at Elland Road in the red and white of Sunderland, with the Daily Mail reporting on a possible return to his boyhood club. The report suggests Greenwood is on the ‘radar’ of Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris as he looks to improve his own squad with limited funds.
Sunderland recently sold star midfielder Jobe Bellingham for an initial £28m, rising to £31.8m if add-ons are met, but a large chunk of that went straight back out due to a promotion-related £20m obligation to buy on-loan Roma midfielder Enzo Le Fee. And despite winning what is considered the world’s richest game in the play-off final, they appear to be scouring the market for cut-price deals.
Leicester could rival Sunderland for Leeds United’s Sam Greenwood
Another club likely in the market for a bargain is Leicester City and the report adds they are ‘weighing up’ a summer move for Greenwood as they plot an instant return to the Premier League. The 2023/24 Championship title winners endured a miserable top-flight return and hope of a major rebuild has been marred by recent charges regarding a Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breach.
The Foxes could be in line for a points deduction if an independent commission finds them guilty and after years of financial mismanagement, they aren’t likely to be flush with cash for their promotion push. As such, they are also likely to be in the market for low-cost options and have Greenwood on their radar.
The former Arsenal academy prospect, who joined Leeds in a roughly £1million deal in the summer following their last Championship promotion five years ago, is one of three 2024/25 loan exits club chiefs will look to sell this summer. The YEP understands they hope to bring in between £3-4m for each of Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Darko Gyabi, which would represent profit on the former pair.
Greenwood was handed his Leeds debut by Marcelo Bielsa and went on to make 35 appearances for the Whites, 25 of which came in the Premier League under a combination of the Argentinian, Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce. However he was deemed surplus to requirements following Farke’s arrival and played just twice under the German.
That fringe status is highly unlikely to change following promotion to the Premier League, with Leeds expected to sign a first-team level attacking midfielder as competition for Brenden Aaronson. That will only push Greenwood further down the pecking order, with a summer move likely.