Good Morning. It's Friday 8th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Confirmed - Leeds in talks with Inter regarding Teremi deal Leeds United are edging closer to securing a proven goalscorer, with 33‑year‑old Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi firmly on their radar. The pursuit was confirmed by Italian football specialist Nima Tavallaey Roodsari, who knows the player personally. He confirmed to the Breakfast Debate that Leeds are indeed in talks with Inter Milan about striking a deal for the veteran forward. Taremi arrived at the San Siro from FC Porto last suumer and is contracted to the Serie A side until June 2027. Over the past six seasons he has consistently proved his worth in the top tiers of both Italian and Portuguese football, delivering goals, assists and a professional work‑ethic that any Premier League side would covet. Inter are reportedly asking for £7.8 million to release the forward. While the fee may look steep for a player of his age, the experience Taremi brings—European competition, Champions‑League nights and a reputation for scoring against top‑flight opposition—could prove invaluable for a Leeds side looking to rebuild. The key question remains whether the Iranian will be slotted straight into the starting XI or used as a strategic replacement for Mateo Joseph, whose move to Mallorca is expected to be finalised later today. Either way, Taremi’s arrival would inject quality and leadership into a Leeds attack eager for a fresh spark. please log in to view this image Leeds set to rubber stamp Joseph loan move to Mallorca Leeds are on the brink of sealing a loan move for wantaway striker Mateo Joseph. La Liga outfit Mallorca have tabled a straightforward loan proposal – without any pre‑agreed purchase option – and sources close to the player say Joseph has already given his consent and is now waiting for the final nod from Elland Road. Joseph’s decision appears to be influenced by more than just football. His childhood friend, fellow Spaniard Pablo Torre, recently completed a permanent switch to Mallorca and has been actively urging him to join the Balearic club. The timing could not be better for the Mallorca project, which finished a respectable 10th place last season and are keen to bolster their attacking options ahead of a push for a higher finish. Daniel Farke revealed that Joseph had asked to leave the club in early July, even refusing to travel with the squad for pre‑season trips to Sweden and Germany. The Spanish under‑21 international has signalled a desire to continue his development in Spain, with Real Betis and Girona also monitoring his progress. While Leeds have turned down loan offers that included mandatory purchase clauses – preferring to retain control of a player with three years left on his contract – they are happy to see Joseph gain La Liga experience before reassessing his future next summer. Meanwhile, United remain active in the transfer market, eyeing full‑backs, No 10s, wingers and strikers, including Liverpool’s 19‑year‑old Ben Doak, who is reportedly valued at around £20 million. please log in to view this image Joffy returns to Hull on loan Joe Gelhardt will return to Hull City on a season‑long loan, ending weeks of speculation about a possible move to Scottish giants Rangers. Joffy spent the second half of last season on loan at the Tigers, impressing with his pace, hold‑up play and eye for goal. With Leeds preparing for life back in the Premier League, the 23yo has been deemed surplus to requirements, prompting a flurry of interest from clubs eager to secure his services. Rangers and Boro were among the names mentioned. Hull, however, have been relentless. Despite battling a recent transfer embargo, the Hull City hierarchy pushed hard to bring Gelhardt back, viewing him as a key piece in their push for a possible play-off position. Journalist Mike White now reports that “the deal is done,” confirming the striker’s return to the Championship. The loan spell offers Gelhardt the chance to enjoy regular first‑team football and continue his development in a competitive league. He could even make his debut in Hull’s opening fixture against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City tomorrow, providing the Tigers with a fresh attacking threat as they aim to bounce back from last season’s disappointment. please log in to view this image Doak £20m gamble Leeds United have turned their focus to Liverpool’s teenage winger Ben Doak, a Scottish international with a £20m price tag. The move comes after missing out on Brazilian forward Igor Paixão, who opted to move to Marseille. Doak, only 19, showcassed his talents last season whilst on loan at Middlesbrough, until a hamstring injury abruptly ended his progress half way through their campaign. Leeds have not yet clarified whether they view the youngster as an immediate first‑team starter or a long‑term project, given Harrison and Ramazani's experience. From a financial perspective, £20m is more than justified if Doak fulfills his potential, and remains injury‑free. The fee is modest compared with the market value of proven Premier League wingers, and a future star would represent excellent value for a club like Leeds who are still rebuilding. However, the immediate impact is doubtful; Leeds need a player who can elevate their attacking output now, and Doak’s limited experience makes him a risky acquisition for a newly promoted side. The gamble rests on whether Leeds can nurture his talent or if the money will simply disappear without tangible returns. please log in to view this image
Stop fretting, it will be soon enough All roads lead to Dublin tomorrow. Promises to be a great occasion especially for the many thousands of youngsters seeing the Whites live for the very first time. Great video and pictures of kids online getting their new kits for the days and practicing their Leeds songs. That's what its all about, introducing the new generations of fans to the club, old farts like me not so important anymore
old farts like us know the meaning of the words ....'and we've had our ups and downs' ....me and Mrs old are in Belfast for a couple of nights from Sunday I'll raise a glass in salute
Depressing news day obviously with Leeds apparently wanting to sign a senior citizen and a kid with potential who won’t be ready to compete. A bit of a downshift in gears from being involved with marquee signings Piaxoa and Dovbyk isn’t it. I would have said ok to the Iranian if we hadn’t brought in Nmecha because he would have been a better third striker than the German, but scary times
Joseph is actually in Mallorca right now and what we have are a 33yo then Piroe and then Nmecha, so we have to hope the old lad can bring his glory days past immediatley
Leeds United will conclude the preparation for their Premier League return 194 miles away from Elland Road, but it will feel like a home game. On Saturday, they face Milan at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, where the majority of the 50,000-plus crowd will be in Leeds colours. This will feel like a home away from home for Daniel Farke and his side. There is an almost mythical, fanatical connection between the Republic of Ireland and Leeds. The club is like a family heirloom, passed through generations in Limerick, Galway, Cork and every corner of the Emerald Isle. Why, though? What is it about this football club from West Yorkshire that has so convincingly won hearts and minds on the other side of the Irish Sea? Like so many, Gerry Lynch inherited the passion from his father, Donal, who had been an avid fan from the 1960s onwards, enraptured by Don Revie’s iconic team. Lynch was born in Cork in 1981 and grew up in Dublin. He had no say in the matter. After a sister who did not like football and a brother who took to Aston Villa and their Irish contingent, Lynch would be handed the Leeds fan baton. Leeds fans may recognise Lynch’s name from his channel on YouTube, The Leeds View. That’s his outlet for a passion that began during childhood walks alongside his father, who regaled him with the glory years. “He would have always talked about this classy image of the all-white kit taken from really wanting Leeds to be like Real Madrid,” he tells The Athletic. “If you’re going to be a top side in Europe and be seen as the best in the world, you’ve got to look like the best in the world. “They had this pristine white kit, and then you had players like John Giles, who was Irish and was a big hero in Ireland. Then you had the grit and the brawn of Billy Bremner in a hard-hitting Leeds side. “Leeds were different from everybody else, and Leeds put it up to everyone else. They weren’t the favoured side, and people in England didn’t always like Leeds. please log in to view this image Ger Lynch with his dad, Donal (Ger Lynch) “That was maybe part of the reason (why Irish people followed Leeds) as well. It’s nice to be following an underdog that can put it up to these teams. Leeds did. It all stems from that.” Patrick Savage, 32, speaks to The Athletic with a strong Irish accent, but he was born in Bradford. He is a member of the club’s Dublin supporters group, but did not move to the Irish capital until he was eight years old in 2000. Patrick’s Irish father had moved to Leeds in the 1960s and, like Lynch’s father Donal, fell in love with Revie’s United. As Patrick grew up near the city, he would frequently go to Elland Road with his dad, who also gave him all the best stories from the previous decades. “He would have got to witness the best Leeds team around (growing up there in the 1960s and ’70s),” he said. “I would get the stories from him, going to the games, queuing up for tickets. He always said he met Revie outside the ground. “He still talks like it’s a childhood memory for him. We used to go to Peter Lorimer’s pub all the time, and he’d be acting like a little schoolboy around him.” The Athletic has seen a report written while Revie was in charge of England, which reflects the former Leeds boss' advanced way of working After the move to Dublin, the trips, inevitably, became less frequent. Still, he had been bitten by the bug. Ireland, he says, is full of generation after generation just like him. “The connection for us is all through the parents growing up, watching the team in the ’70s and all the Irish players,” he said. “The connection’s really strong. “You can’t get into a taxi in Dublin without the taxi man being a Leeds fan. It’s impossible. The whole journey home is just chatting to the man about Leeds.” Gerry McDermott is arguably one of the best-known Leeds fans in Ireland. He says he set up the club’s first supporter groups in Cork, Galway, Dublin and Limerick. He is 65 now and in that same generation as Lynch and Patrick’s fathers. He did not inherit his Leeds passion from a relative. It came down to picking the team in white when he watched the 1970 FA Cup final, between Leeds and Chelsea, on television as a 10-year-old. The presence of an Irish legend like Giles only cemented that love as he watched on in awe of what Revie’s side did on the pitch. This is where the generational pull started. “It’s from grandfathers to their sons and now it’s passed on to their grandsons as well,” he said. As the 1980s approached, McDermott became old enough to start making his own pilgrimage to Elland Road to see his beloved side in the flesh. It’s a route that has become well-trodden over the years. Taking that trip has become a badge of honour for so many Irish fans. Like many others, McDermott began with ferries in the 1980s and then transitioned into flights through the mid-1990s and onwards. The increasing convenience of travel between Ireland and Leeds played a significant part in retaining that core of support for decade after decade. It’s still an expensive and time-consuming endeavour, but for those who have time and money to spare, the trip to Elland Road is a rite of passage. McDermott worked for the supermarket chain Tesco for 42 years and would regularly save up his year’s holiday for a four-week splurge on Leeds United in the UK. Lynch’s first trip to Elland Road came in May 2005, when Leeds played out a 0-0 draw in the Championship with Rotherham United. It’s a stadium that has kept him coming back. Even when he has failed to get a match ticket, Lynch has journeyed to watch the game on TV in The Old Peacock pub across the road from Elland Road. please log in to view this image McDermott with Gary Speed (Gerry McDermott) He sees Dublin airport packed with Leeds fans whenever he has flown over on a matchday. There were so many making the trip that you would unexpectedly bump into neighbours, 200 miles from home, he said. “The Irish following, especially during the League One days, when it was much easier to get tickets for Elland Road… the volume of people was huge,” said Lynch. “You’d be over to see the game and you’d be seeing people you live on the same street with in the ground, but you wouldn’t have told you were going.” Leeds is a city that has grown to mean everything to Lynch. Like so many families, and not just Irish ones, United brought him closer to his relatives. Those shared experiences are priceless to him, just as visiting Bremner’s statue is to him now. “My dad and I had some amazing times going,” he said. “We had so much fun. As I got older, as a kid, I got closer to my dad because of the time we spent together going to Leeds games. He passed away eight years ago. There’s a stone beside Billy Bremner’s statue. I got a stone put down for him. “My dad’s buried in Galway, but I never feel like he’s buried in Galway. I feel like he’s in Leeds because, when I go there, I make sure I go and see the stone and always get a feeling he’s around the ground. There’s just a connection there with it now, to my family and to me.” Those Elland Road connections will be felt far closer to home, in Dublin, on Saturday.
Afternoon all What a depressing morning thread, if we sign those two after all these weeks of links, then you have to seriously question those in charge of transfers, I’m hoping it’s all nonsense
Word on scouse street is that Everton are making an offer we can’t refuse for Willie Gnonto? Never trust a scouse so hope this is wrong
Leeds are still going to bring in a marquee No9 as well as the Teremi. The Iraqi comes in to replace Joseph
But what use is that. Wed only get little over half of it and its yet another player wed have to go looking for. Problem doesn't seem to be money, more a lack of pulling power
I still see Gnonto as a bench player. He isnt going to be top class. £40 million is a lot for a bench player. I keep saying that the window starts to open up in the last week.
