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Good Morning. It's Tuesday 5th December, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road
Swap deal gathering pace
Talk of a swap deal involving Joe Rodon and Wilfred Gnonto is gathering pace ahead of next months Winter Transfer Window.
The 26yo centre-back has been in fine form since joining the Whites during the Summer, already chalking up 1294 minutes of game, and forging one of the most stubborn defences in the Championship, alongside Pascal Struijk.
Prior to arriving at Elland Road, the Welsh International endured a difficult couple of years. Spurs shelled out £11m for him back in 2020, but was never able to secure a regular starting berth. Last season, he was lent out to Ligue One outfit Rennes, with an option to buy, but after 15 games, lost his spot to an academy player.
With less than 18 months on his (Rodon) contract, Leeds have the upper hand as far as negotiations are concerned. Online speculation indicates that Leeds value Gnonto at £25m, whilst Spurs would like to double their money on the former Swansea City defender.
Recently, the Breakfast Debate caught up with Spurs fanzine favourite 'The Boy Hotspur' who put Rodon's value right about £10m.
"Sadly, about £10m, he’s not played and that destroys value…"
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Firpo out til Christmas
Junior Firpo will be out of action until after Christmas after aggravating his troublesome hamstring during Leeds 3-1 victory over Swansea City last week.
The 26yo was making just his second appearance of the Campaign following a six month lay-off, when he felt discomfort shortly after coming on for Sam Byram with ten minutes left.
He was able to see out the game, but missed the visit of Middlesbrough at the weekend. Whilst Sam Byram have proved a useful stop gap, is it time Leeds dug deep into the coffers for someone better?
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Blackburn injury crisis ahead of Leeds visit
Blackburn are going through an injury crisis ahead of the Saturday's War of the Roses clash with Leeds Utd.
With nine first-teamers out of action, Joh-Dahl Tomasson was forced to name four academy graduates on their bench during last weekends 3-1 defeat at Hillsborough.
The Riversiders' have the deadliest strike force duo in the Championship with attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics leading the race for the Championship golden boot with 14 goals. The former Colchester Utd Academy prospect believes injuries are beginning to take their toll on the squad:-
"Yeah, it's a young bench, a young team," "We have been hit with loads of injuries. Tyrhys Dolan really, (Arnor) Sigurdsson didn't travel, we have been hit with lots of them.
"We can't complain, these things happen in football. The squad isn't humungous, the starting XI has been consistent over the season. The bench was very young and it was a great experience for them.
"We are all disappointed with the result today and we will go again. It's the perfect time for a free week, everyone is hurting in there, everyone is tired.
"The bench is very young, we have found consistency in our form and the manager wants to keep the team the same because we have formed relationships in these games and played well."
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