By Adefunmiloye Alani

18th Aug, 2021 | 3:10pm

Sunderland and Blackpool want Leeds defender Niall Huggins

League One outfit Sunderland and Championship side Blackpool want Leeds United defender Niall Huggins, according to BBC journalist Adam Pope.

The playing chances of the 20-year-old versatile Welshman are currently limited at Elland Road, and a summer exit looks to be very much on the cards.

Pope posted on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon: “Sunderland as well as Blackpool interested in Leeds defender Niall Huggins.

“Opportunities for him clearly limited at Elland Road”

Time to move on

The youngster featured in just 37 minutes in the Premier League last season, coming off the bench to replace Ezgjan Alioski and make his debut during a 4-2 defeat at Arsenal in February.

Huggins featured mainly for the under-23s, and the fact that he only signed a new two-and-a-half year deal last December means a temporary departure instead of a permanent one could be on the cards.

Despite his age, he needs to be playing senior football as soon as possible, and the EFL duo is offering that opportunity.

We reckon joining Blackpool ahead of Sunderland makes sense for him as the quality of the Championship is slightly higher than that of the League One.

Leeds would be more concerned about his development, though, and they will likely allow him join a side where he is guaranteed regular playing opportunities.

Huggins played a key role to help the Whites under-23s secure promotion to the Premier League 2 Division 1 at the end of last season, featuring in 17 games and weighing in with two goals and one assist.

Being able to play as a left-back and right-back means he should see playing minutes wherever he ends up spending the season.

In other Leeds news, Whites close in on major transfer, fee plus add-ons mooted.