Leeds United’s Championship season has taken a dramatic turn in terms of recruiting; they have already lost Luke Ayling and Djed Spence in their defensive ranks this transfer window. However, speculations claim that they are hoping to finalize a deal for a top player from the previous season’s competition.
After a season without playing for Tottenham, Spence arrived in the summer with high hopes. The right-back was expected to do great things in the Premier League after his incredible stint under Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest, but that never quite materialized. Despite playing in just eight games, the former Middlesbrough player made an impression on his Elland Road debut. He was a viable alternative at both right and left defender while Junior Firpo was out due to injury.
With Tottenham sending him to Genoa instead as a makeweight for the deal to sign Radu Dragusin, alongside Ayling penning an emotional exit to Middlesbrough to signal the end of an eight-year spell, it’s left Daniel Farke needing reinforcements in the wide areas. But that could come with the loan signing of Luton Town summer signing Ryan Giles – who has struggled for game time himself at Kenilworth Road.
Football Insider reports that the Whites have asked to sign Giles to a temporary contract that would last the remainder of the season. They have him on their list of targets, and he’s a prime possibility as they ramp up attempts to assemble a revamped defense.
Giles may be looking for minutes despite the Bedfordshire side needing every body they can find in their heroic safety search. Bell and Alfie Doughty have displaced Giles in the starting lineup on the Hatters’ left flank. Giles signed for a reported £5 million in the summer.
Giles was one of the Championship’s best left-backs in the previous campaign alongside Ian Maatsen at Burnley and Ryan Manning at Swansea, and so his Premier League move didn’t come as a surprise at all from a club in Luton who have massively bolstered their ranks with experienced signings from the English leagues – but he may have to drop down to the second-tier again to prove his worth.
Leeds’ left-back struggles
Junior Firpo was marked as somewhat of a coup when he joined the Whites in the summer of 2021 from Barcelona for a fee of around £12million; though he has failed to impress somewhat in his time in Yorkshire. 49 appearances isn’t too bad a tally, though just seven Championship appearances have seen him fall out of the pecking order, either due to injury or a lack of fitness.
When healthy, he’s a fantastic asset to have; three assists in two matches against Cardiff and Birmingham have brought the former Spain youth international back into the fold. The question is whether he can maintain this form and level of fitness as the season approaches its conclusion.
Sam Byram has filled in at left-back elsewhere during his absence, but as he is a natural right-back and Spence and Ayling are leaving, the Leeds academy product will probably be required down that flank, where there is a pressing need for a left-back.
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