By Joe Ellis

10th Nov, 2022 | 10:40am

Leeds United talks suddenly stopped for Romain Perraud transfer in 2021

Romain Perraud nearly signed for Leeds United in 2021 but the club withdrew from talks to open the door for Southampton to swoop in.

The Frenchman left Stade Brest in the January transfer window of 2021 to join the Saints in the Premier League where he has since made 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times from left-back.

But things could have been different as the 25-year-old revealed that the Whites had made the first contact in that window but negotiations were suddenly halted.

“In January-February 2021 I was approached by Leeds and Southampton. From there, I let my agents deal with it,” he said to So Foot.

“It was Leeds who contacted me first, but the negotiations stopped quite suddenly. Southampton was very warm, the project immediately seduced me.”

Lucky break

Given that Perraud has been unable to regularly nail down a starting spot at St Mary’s, Leeds United may have gotten away with this particular transfer by pulling out when they did.

Admittedly, Junior Firpo is far from the perfect left-back and if there was a position where an upgrade is needed it’s probably there – or up front – but he is still better than the Frenchman.

Jesse Marsch won’t be rushing to make amends for what happened in the past when the 2023 January transfer window opens though with Perraud in the shadows somewhat on the South Coast.

It would have cost Southampton a pretty penny to sign him from Brest too and they will not have been pleased with the value they have received in return since the ink dried on the contracts.

Not every transfer Leeds have or haven’t made has gone perfectly over the past few years but this one was a very smart one to avoid.

In other Leeds United news, this Elland Road ace is set to learn of his World Cup fate soon with his playing time in Yorkshire limited.