Leeds United ‘very, very foolish’ to sell as ‘astronomical’ prediction issued on Georginio Rutter or Crysencio Summerville transfers
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United …
It will have to take “astronomical” offers to get Leeds United to consider selling anyone in the January transfer window and even then it wouldn’t be a good idea, says Paul Robinson.
With the Whites performing so well in the Championship the former England keeper believes they would be “very, very foolish” to allow the likes of Georginio Rutter or Crysencio Summerville to leave when they are in such a strong position to get back to the Premier League this season.
He has predicted that Daniel Farke won’t lose anyone from his regular squad in the winter window, when even “stupid money” isn’t worth the trade-off compared to promotion.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News the BBC Sport pundit said: “I don’t think they’ll lose anyone in January. You realise where the club is and their position in the league. It’s the most difficult league in the world to get out of as everybody talks about.
“You hear so many people saying it and repeating it, it’s not just for the sake of it, the Championship is a ridiculously tough league.
“You try and build an acca in the Championship with three or four results there’s always one that will let you down because that’s the way that the league is. It’s a very tough league.
“Look at Leeds against Rotherham for example, the draw, and then Rotherham go and get four put past them by Hull, there’s no rhyme or reason in the Championship at times.
“Leeds are there at the top for a reason. I think they’ve got a real good chance to go up automatically. I genuinely question Ipswich’s sustainability for the length of a Championship season with the difficulties they’ve got lying ahead.
“At the moment Leeds will not want to sell anybody and I don’t think there’s a bid out there, unless it is ridiculous, that could actually tempt them under the new ownership.
“Things are moving behind the scenes, changes are happening at the club, and an opportunity to get out of a very, very tough division like the Championship, it doesn’t come around every season.
“So for Leeds to be in the position they’re in they’ll be very, very foolish to entertain any bids for any of the players that are playing particularly well, even if it was a stupid amount of money.
“It would have to be astronomical for the manager to want to trade. The thing is they’ve got to weigh up an option if they’re looking to sell Rutter or sell Summerville or sell [Willy] Gnonto in the January transfer window.
“What are they realistically going to get for a player at that level in January? Weight that up against the financial reward of getting into the Premier League. There’s no point selling anybody.”
Leeds United proved in the summer they wouldn’t back down in situations where they had any control over the future of a player, as they refused Gnonto’s exit to Everton even when he held out of matches.
That suggests they won’t easily be swayed if offers came in from the top flight for any of their key men, and when the unit is performing so well it makes a lot of sense why.
Even peripheral players leaving is a potential risk as an injury crisis could come along at any time, just as it has at left-back, but there are bound to be some players who need game time so loan exits might be impossible to avoid.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay has shared a confirmed January transfer update.