Good Morning, its Monday 16th October, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Leeds alerted to availability of former top target Leeds Utd have been alerted to the availability of one of their former top targets. MLS defender Kai Wagner is set to leave Philadelphia Union on a free transfer after refusing a new contract with the Pennsylvania based club. The 26yo is frustrated with his salary situation, even though he is one of the highest paid players in Major League Soccer. He is currently earning $630,000 pa (£518,000), which equates to just under £10,000 a week. Leeds have been long term admirers of Wagner, and although Farke has managed to plug the gap at left-back, could do a lot worse than offer the young German terms. Greek outfit AEK Athens, who are managed by former Union head coach Matias Almeyda are also keen, though the lure of English football could be a contributing factor. According to Whoscored, Wagner topped their rankings by some distance, with an average rating of 7.34. His contract officially runs out on New Years Eve. please log in to view this image Stick or twist No less than nine of Daniel Farke's first team squad have less than eight months left on their Leeds Utd contracts. Whilst the futures of Robin Koch and Cody Drameh's may already have been decided, the Whites must determine whether Stuart Dallas, Lewis Bate, Ian Poveda, Sam Byram, Luke Ayling, Jamie Shackleton and Liam Cooper deserve new terms; or whether the gaffer should be given a blank canvas allowing him to bring in the players of his choice. Much will obviously depend on what league Leeds find themselves in next season. If Leeds bounce back up, which players would you like to see retained? Will it show a lack of ambition if the club keep the majority from the list or are they integral to the success of Leeds Utd. please log in to view this image Cooper turned down £4m Saudi offer Elland Road journalist Phil Hay has revealed that Leeds skipper Liam Cooper turned down a lucrative two year deal with Saudi outfit Al-Qadsiah worth £40,000 a week tax free, to stay and fight for his place at Leeds. In August, he spurned Robbie Fowler's advances, when offered the chance to swap West Yorkshire for the Arabian Gulf two months ago. Cooper is in the final year of his contract at Elland Road, and having slipped down the pecking order since returning for injury last month, may now be regretting his choice. With eight years loyal service, and 250 caps to his name, Cooper has long been a fans favourite at Elland Road, but age is now against him. At 32, this may be his last season at Leeds. please log in to view this image
Morning all. I hate international breaks. Why break up a perfectly good footy season ffs? I still thinkt that the best approach with players nearing ends of contracts is to mainly get rid. Rebuild is underway, so why keep some ****e players from the past? Deffo keep Byram though of course as if he stays fit thats a great signing..
In business you need forward planning and if you think giving extra year contracts to players who are well past 30 and can’t play many games this season is wise? ……… sorry but Cooper for example will not help us much next season and keeps one of our kids education back. If we get promoted Cooper will not play a match. So come on let’s be Frank and say we need upgrades and if we had upgraded a season or so back we may have still been in the prem
Wagner is a no brainer. We need a left back and he's free. Do any of the players whose contracts are running out have the potential to operate at Premier League level in the future? If the answer is no then let them go. Cooper should have taken the money. It was his retirement fund. I kinda respect him for wanting to stay and tough it out and get his testimonial but he should have put his and his family's future first. He should have taken the money. Well done @ellandback. International breaks must be tough to deal with when trying to find talking points in a daily basis.
Wagner will go to a prem club or a top German/Euro team. We were chasing him as we knew we could get him cheap but he knows he is a free agent soon and can walk to the highest bidder
Maybe Doc... but if he'd been in high demand then surely a top team would have taken him already? There seems to be a reluctance for sides to recruit MLS players unless they're youngsters. There seems to be a feeling that guys in their prime like Wagner would have been plucked already if people believed he really had it. Can't say I'm qualified to judge personally whether he would hack it at a higher level, just think he would have gone already if he was perceived to be at that level.
Just watched the fall and rise of Leeds United on Sky. The promotion under Marcelo, some of the goals were simply quite staggeringly good. The Ayling volley is still my favourite goal in many a year.
Evening all, Charlie Cresswell played 90 mins for england u21s and scored a 88th min header in their 3-2 loss to Ukraine. I do think the lad will leave if he doesn’t get time on the pitch, and can’t really blame him.
