Aaron Ramsdale transfer reveal made at Leeds United after 'ambitious' bid
Southampton's Aaron Ramsdale could have been Leeds United's first-choice goalkeeper this season.
The Whites pulled off a massive coup in the summer by landing England international James Trafford from Manchester City.
Trafford did not come cheap, as Leeds splashed out a reported £40million upfront, plus a further £5m in add-ons.
In a summer of change between the sticks at Elland Road, Michael Zetterer was recruited as back-up, with Illan Meslier, Karl Darlow and Lucas Perri departing.
Daniel Farke will be more than happy with his goalkeeping department, even if Zetterer did ship six goals on his debut against Chelsea.
But it turns out there was a different plan in place had priority signing Trafford not arrived.
What's been reported on Leeds' interest in Aaron Ramsdale?
Ramsdale was mentioned with Leeds earlier this year, but there were no serious transfer links over the summer.
A number of keepers were touted as Leeds targets, but the 28-year-old was not one of them.
However, a report from the Daily Mail on Friday claims Leeds had Ramsdale "firmly in their sights" had an "ambitious bid" to sign Trafford not come off.
Not only that, the report states Leeds "would likely have landed" the Englishman had they pursued that move instead.
As it is, though, Man City accepted the offer for Trafford and Leeds' interest in Ramsdale did not develop any further.
Would Ramsdale deal have made sense for Leeds?
Ramsdale was hailed an "unbelievable" goalkeeper by then-Southampton boss Russell Martin a couple of years ago.
However, the Sheffield United academy product's stock has declined since he was sold by Arsenal in 2024.
Arsenal splashed out big to sign Ramsdale, but Mikel Arteta instead went with David Raya and the rest, as they say, is history.
Ramsdale made 23 appearances on loan at Newcastle United last season, but he is now back at Southampton.
Remarkably, Ramsdale is considered fourth choice at Southampton these days and instead plays for the Under-21s.
On that basis alone, it is fair to say this is a bullet dodged from the Whites' perspective.