Finley Gorman may bank Leeds United over £5m as Manchester City agree transfer for Jadon Sancho level must-have talent – Phil Hay
Finley Gorman’s departure to Manchester City could end up banking Leeds United in excess of £5million, according to The Athletic.
Phil Hay and Sam Lee report on the outlet’s website on 15 November that the 15-year-old’s pending exit, after an agreement was reached between the two clubs, had become increasingly inevitable after months of scouting from the treble-winners that saw the Whites began to feel him “slipping away”.
Gorman is seen as such a talent in Manchester that they “had to sign” him, on a par with the likes of former City youth star and current Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho.
City were reportedly a “constant” presence at Leeds United youth games and have now committed to a seven-figure fee for the attacking midfielder, with the up-front fee expected to be a British record for a player of his age.
But the contract involved will have add-ons and incentives that will take the total fee past £5m if Gorman “fulfils his potential”.
Leeds have been reported elsewhere as “not happy” with losing the viral sensation, but Hay and Lee report that once he signalled his intention to leave they were left with little alternative but to accept a large offer for the teenager.
Plucked away
Millions for a 15-year-old is obviously a wild amount of money to spend on potential, but if Gorman turns out to be as good as it appears both Leeds and City believe he will be it probably won’t feel like much in the end.
A fee such as that is practically pocket change to the Abu Dhabi ownership at the Etihad either way and it will only be a small silver lining for the Elland Road hierarchy if they end up getting all of that money.
Unless the Whites are back in the Premier League and challenging in the top half regularly within the next few seasons it is likely that a player as highly-rated as this would have moved on at some point before long.
Even then a club with the financial might, recent success, and facilities of the European champions can entice virtually any player, but if a deal happened after Gorman’s 17th birthday, at which point he would have been offered professional terms in West Yorkshire, he would surely have netted a much higher fee.
Ultimately Leeds were powerless to resist in this situation and will have to watch on from afar as the teenager develops.
In other Leeds United news, another permanent exit is increasingly likely as Hay suggests “that will happen”.