Bielsa makes personal plea to convince attacking target to join Leeds
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has made a personal call to an attacking target to convince him to move to Elland Road.
Manchester City starlet Ian Poveda is the player in question, with the 19-year-old yet to make a decision on his future given that he will out of contract this summer.
Italian publication Tuttosport states that Poveda has not managed to impress City chief Pep Guardiola enough to earn a new deal and will be let go, increasing the possibility that the youngster could be allowed to move on in January.
Poveda is believed to be very interested in signing for Torino, and negotiations are ongoing to try and reach an agreement over the next few days, however, it’s also reported that Leeds are close to completing a deal.
And Tuttosport adds that Bielsa is pulling out all the stops to get his man by personally telephoning the youngster and convincing him that Leeds would be the best choice for his building career.
With Leeds going so well in their push for promotion this season, the fact that Poveda could still play Premier League football if they go up is a huge carrot to dangle.
The fact that Guardiola is a big Bielsa fan could also play a part in City allowing Poveda, who has also been mentioned as a Celtic target, to move on now and join up with the Elland Road club.
Meanwhile, Leeds are reported to have moved onto other striker options after it was claimed Ralph Hassenhuttl had won his battle to keep striker Che Adams at Southampton.
The 23-year-old, yet to score in the Premier League this season following his £15m move from Birmingham City in the summer, has emerged as Marcelo Bielsa’s number 1 target to replace Eddie Nketiah, who has returned to Arsenal ahead of a loan move elsewhere.
The forward is a proven scorer in the second tier, netting 22 times in the Championship for Birmingham last season, with Leeds’ latest offer – reported to have been submitted last week – yet to be accepted or rejected by the south coast club.
The offer from Leeds is believed to be a loan to buy, with United reported to be willing to pay £1million to take Adams to Elland Road now, before the deal becomes a permanent £10million arrangement at the end of the season. Read more…