Good Morning. It's Friday 12th January, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Leeds inquire about Hammers contract rebel Leeds are rumoured to be in talks with West Ham Utd over the services of versatile left wing-back Ben Johnson. The 23yo has fallen down the pecking order this season, and with just 350 minutes of game time under his belt, is looking for a move away from the London Stadium. The Whites had set their sights on Nico Williams, but Nottingham Forest were reluctant to see him go. Johnson may not be Welsh, but has proven pedigree, having already made 92 first team appearances for the Hammers, as well as ten England U21 caps. Johnson can play on either flank, though is more comfortable on the left. His contract ends this Summer, but any deal to make the move permanent will depend on his salary. He currently earns £20,000 a week, but is demanding three times that if West Ham want to keep him. He was linked with a move to St Mary's leading up to the January transfer window, in a swap deal plus cash for Southampton's highly rated full-back Kyle Walker-Peters. please log in to view this image Thank God Meslier's back During his pre-match Press Conference, Leeds Manager Daniel Farke sounded more than a little relieved that Illan Meslier had completed his three match suspension, and baring a catastrophe will start at Cardiff City at the weekend. With an injury to Karl Darlow, third choice shot stopper Kristoffer Klaesson had to fill in between the sticks against Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle. Having kept clean sheets in both, many believe the young Norwegian International has earnt his chance for a sustained run in the team, with pundit Jon Newsome even claiming Klaesson is a better distributor of the ball! According to Farke: “Illan [Meslier] is thank god, back, and he will return back to the goal if nothing major happens in the next training session.” please log in to view this image In other news... West Ham and Everton are keeping close tabs on Wilfred Gnonto, but are not prepared to make big money offers. They see his valuation slipping, as he is out of favour at Elland Road... Manchester Utd have been linked with a £40m move for Archie Gray. Not even I would entertain click-bait on that level... Stories linking Crysencio Summerville to Anfield, Villa Park and others are not effecting his mind set. Rumours from Elland Road suggest the 22yo is Happy at Leeds... North of the border, Leeds are being linked with 31yo left back Borna Barisic. The experienced Croatian International is in the final six months of his contract. 55 time Scottish Champions Rangers are desperate for him to stay and sign a new deal... please log in to view this image
Good morning everyone Three games & three clean sheets for Klaesson, i mentioned before how refreshing his distribution was, for me has more than earned a run in the team, the more he plays imo the more experience he will gain and a better keeper he will become, if not we have Meslier which in my opinion is a poor back up, so god knows what Klaesson would have to do to get a good run in the team.
Morning all, plenty of clickbait around and wading through some of it is pointless. born a Barasic was a player Orta tried to get 2 seasons ago, but hes now 31yo and a bit pointless if you are looking to the future. There is no way we would pay £20m for a full back and especially a guy who wants £60k per week if the story is correct. A £20m defender would be a regular in any prem team, so a) way over valued and b) is obviously not prem quality if he can’t get into a poor WHU. If the price was right and his wages were in line he could be a good buy, but…..
Good point well made Southern. I think Klaessen is 3rd choice and FARKE bought Darlow to be the main keeper as he thought Meslier would leave. We have seen too many rumours about a new keeper, why? Klaessen is another player who is too good for U21s and is the next full Norwegian international keeper. Bet he leaves
Don't say that Doc, i know it's just been a couple of games, but i thought i saw a glimmer of a more relaxed defence just recently, maybe the defenders feel a bit more relaxed knowing what's behind them, and don't feel as rushed into making rash decisions, so cutting down on horrendous mistakes which we are rather prone to, sometimes i just feel as though our defenders sometimes think oh god i shall have to deal with this, as Meslier won't.
Morning all. Doc's right that Klaesson is 3rd choice but with Darlow out for another 6 weeks he now gets promoted to 2nd choice. That's the life as a goalkeeper because only one can play. Interesting stuff from Farke about Charlie Cresswell and the reason why he's not been in the squad. Whilst not a surprise that the player is disappointed to be 4th choice behind Rodon, Struijk and Cooper it's also very poor from Cresswell to be not showing the neccessary commitment that Farke demands. Again that's the life of a professional footballer and you have to fight tooth & nail to get into the team.
Which is Meslier at this moment in time. Good experience for Klaesson and now he keeps working and will hope to become the permanent no' 2 for next season.
As you say time will tell but too many fans always want to throw the latest youngster into the team and ignore what the coaching staff are seeing on a daily basis. There are reasons why the likes of Archie Gray stay in the team and then players like Joffy, Cresswell & Drameh do not.
If Farke used the term “Thank God” for the return of Meslier then that is very poor management of Klaesson in my book.
He has either no man management skills or he is forcing the issue by putting Cresswell and Klaessen in the shop window.
Cresswell and his dad and the Agency have spoken first on social media so Farke has given his reasons. I admire him for it and Cresswell can go feck himself.
