Currently embroiled in a fierce race to win automatic promotion to the Premier League, Leeds United are reportedly readying a bid to sign a Championship midfielder who is worth as much as £8m.
Leeds transfer news
Those at Elland Road certainly don’t need to be informed just how important the transfer window can be. Just six months ago, they found themselves ripped apart by Premier League interest which saw Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville all depart. It was then that they had no choice but to welcome reinforcements of their own in the form of Ao Tanaka, Jayden Bogle, Largie Ramazanai and a number of others.
Not looking back since, the Whites are once again on course for promotion and should be among the favourites to return to the Premier League at just the second time of asking under Daniel Farke.
That’s not to say further arrivals are unlikely in this month’s transfer window, however, with names such as Burnley winger Mike Tresor and former Everton defender Ben Godfrey already mentioned in the early stages and another target now stealing the headlines.
According to Leeds United News, Leeds are now ready to submit their first bid to sign Ben Sheaf from Coventry City, who reportedly value their midfielder at a hefty £8m this month.
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It’s certainly worth testing Coventry’s resolve on that price tag though, given how they need to use this month and potentially the summer transfer window to balance the books and could, therefore, be left with no choice but to sell Sheaf.
As for the midfielder, himself, the prospect of swapping the Sky Blues for a move to Elland Road may be a difficult one to resist even as club captain given Coventry’s current struggles and Leeds’ pursuit of promotion. Whether that temptation is enough to seal a winter move remains to be seen, however.
A leader during his time at Coventry, Sheaf has earned the chance to take a side of Leeds’ calibre to the Premier League, but the Whites must first endure successful negotiations with the Sky Blues, who will not want to lose one of their key men so early into Frank Lampard’s tenure.
At 26 years old, the move would also be coming at an ideal time for Sheaf as he steps into his best years as a midfielder and potentially partners the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Tanaka at the heart of Farke’s side gunning for the title.
It’s a rise that former Doncaster Rovers manager Darren Moore saw coming almost five years ago, telling reporters as relayed by The Coventry Telegraph in 2020: “He is a versatile player, equally as comfortable in defence as he is in midfield.
“He’s a lovely footballer. He plays well off either foot, he’s a good technician. He’s got good size and structure and he moves well. He’s got a good eye for a pass and is an intelligent footballer. Those are the types of players that we want to sign here going forward.”