Leeds United were in tatters last season and they hardly made their presence felt in the race for promotion to the Premier League. The tutelage of Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom failed to engineer any sort of productive results with consistency as The Whites withered away and finished at the 13th spot in the league standings.
A lot of expectations have been nested on the shoulders of Leeds United’s new manager, Marcelo Bielsa. It was expected that the new boss will go on a sort of signing spree to beef up the clearly inadequate squad. However, the Argentine has managed to secure just two loan deals so far in Jamal Blackman and Lewis Baker from the ranks of Chelsea.
One of the players to have been heavily linked with a move to the Elland Road has been Brentford winger, Florian Jozefzoon. Apart from the Yorkshire based outfit, their rivals in the Championship, Derby County, have also been taking strides to lure him out of the Griffin Park. Earlier this month, Sky Sports reported that the Bees had rejected a bid of £1.5million from the Rams.
Lately, Birmingham Mail reported that the Peacocks, as well as Frank Lampard’s camp, have also placed a bid of £2.5million to make Jozefzoon sign on the dotted line. However, another report by the Derby Telegraph has stated that Derby County are closing in on the Dutchman and he has given his consent to sign on a four-year deal.
Jozefzoon plundered 7 goals and mustered 7 assists in 39 league appearances for Brentford last season. He is versatile enough to operate on either wing as well as through the middle. Besides, he has plenty of experience under his belt and is extremely comfortable on the ball capable of bursting through defensive lines. His work ethic is exemplary and he is well acclimatized with the animosity that the English second division has on offer.
Although the latest development states that both Leeds United and Derby County had offered £2.75million, the 27-year-old is heading towards the ranks of the latter. This would undoubtedly be a big blow for Bielsa as Jozefzoon could have been a galvanizing signing for them. They have lacked the cutting edge from the wide areas for quite some time now and have lacked a leader in the offensive half and the former PSV Eindhoven man could have injected all those qualities.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored