Premier League trio 'ready' move for Crysencio Summerville as £4m Leeds United target eyed by Sheffield United
Your round-up of the latest Leeds United headlines in the week Daniel Farke’s side return to action.
Leeds United return to action this week with the first of their pre-season friendlies at Harrogate Town on Friday. Daniel Farke’s squad have been at Thorp Arch over the past fortnight undergoing baseline tests and building their fitness, and the group will now be tested over 90 minutes for the first time ahead of their 2024/25 Championship season. The Whites have less than four weeks until they welcome newly-promoted Portsmouth to Elland Road on August 10.
Work behind the scenes has been going on for some time as Leeds strengthen for that upcoming promotion push, with Joe Rothwell’s season-long loan confirmed last week as he joins permanent arrivals Joe Rodon and Alex Cairns. Reports of interest in Sheffield United’s Jayden Bogle emerged over the weekend and it is clear that more arrivals will be welcomed before the August 30 deadline. With all that in mind, the YEP has rounded up some of the latest headlines surrounding the club.
Summerville latest
Developments around the future of Crysencio Summerville could soon emerge with reports suggesting a trio of Premier League clubs are ‘ready to make their move’ for the Dutchman. Leeds Live has relayed claims that Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa could soon show their hand with all three set to step up interest in wide reinforcements in the coming days.
Summerville has long been tipped to leave Leeds after an outstanding first season of regular football in which he registered 21 goals and 10 assists, winning the Championship’s Player of the Season award. Liverpool, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked but are thought to have moved on to other options, with those in charge at Elland Road holding firm on their £40m valuation.
The sale of Archie Gray to Tottenham for the same price has put Leeds in a much stronger position and the YEP understands they are not actively looking to sell Summerville, or anyone else for that matter. But, as looks to be the case with Glen Kamara, they will consider appropriate offers and resolve could soon be tested by top-flight clubs when it comes to the winger.
Blades eye past target
Sheffield United are reportedly eyeing Norwich City midfielder Kenny McLean, who was the subject of an unsuccessful bid from Leeds last summer. Journalist Alan Nixon reports Chris Wilder has identified McLean and Swansea City’s Matt Grimes as targets for a double midfield swoop, but the ability to progress with interest will depend on EFL ratification of their prospective takeover by a US-based consortium.
Leeds were thought to be interested in the 32-year-old last summer and even submitted a bid worth £4m at the end of August, but Norwich quickly rejected it and Kamara arrived from Rangers later in the window. McLean went on to win the Canaries’ Player of the Season award and so any move this summer will command what Nixon describes as a ‘chunky fee’.
Having lost Ben Osborn and Oliver Norwood earlier this summer, and with interest in Vini Souza intensifying, Sheffield United have made the addition of central midfielders a priority. The Blades welcomed former Leeds man Jamie Shackleton to Bramall Lane recently, after he rejected the offer of an extension with the Whites to join their Championship rivals.