Phil Hay delivers transfer update on Leeds and Rodrigo De Paul after big social media tease
Leeds United fans were sent into a frenzy on Saturday after Udinese midfielder Rodrigo De Paul seemed to hint at a possible move in January.
He sent a tweet saying, “New Year, New challenges. I’m ready.”
The midfielder has history here. Leeds were linked strongly with the player over the summer, with De Paul himself stating he wanted a move on his Twitter account.
Victor Orta confirmed that Leeds had looked at him but that the two clubs were too far apart on valuation.
Leeds fans were hoping that De Paul’s latest tweet meant Leeds were going to go back in again for the midfielder in January.
Talking in an Athletic Q&A after the game against Tottenham at the weekend, one fan said, “Can you see Leeds going back in for De Paul Phil?”
Hay replied saying, “It doesn’t look like it in this window.
“They took a good look at De Paul [in the summer] but were a long way short of his asking price. I don’t think they’d mind if this window passed off quietly. The summer is where they’ll do more concerted business.”
De Paul in the summer?
De Paul has been playing brilliantly in Serie A this season and was included in WhoScored’s team of the year.
That’s why the Leeds fans refuse to give up on him. That and the fact that De Paul was obviously really keen on a Leeds move – so much so that he risked upsetting the Udinese fans by admitting he wanted to go.
However, we can only see a January move happening if his price dropped dramatically and with three-and-a-half years left on his current deal, that’s just not going to happen.
However, Hay has left a big tease in there for Leeds fans saying it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen “in this window”.
We certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Leeds go back in for him in the summer. If he was a target last summer, then he will likely still be on the list at the end of this season.