BBC broadcaster shares ‘clearly wants out’ opinion on Leeds United ace Luis Sinisterra
Luis Sinisterra “clearly wants out” of Leeds United, according to BBC broadcaster Adam Pope.
Dutch winger Sinisterra was conspicuous by his absence as Leeds were beaten 1-0 by Birmingham City in the Championship on Saturday (12 August).
Wilfried Gnonto had already reportedly told manager Daniel Farke he did not want to play prior to Carabao Cup fixture against Shrewsbury and the Birmingham fixture.
The situation with Sinisterra was slightly less clear as he has previously had a knee problem, but Phil Hay shared that Sinisterra does have a release clause and links to AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Feyenoord have since surfaced.
Pope, speaking on the Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet podcast (14 August, 20:40) believes it is clear what the 24-year-old’s intentions are.
“I think there’s slightly two different scenarios, Gnonto’s clearly said I’m not playing in the two games, Sinisterra – look to my mind he didn’t want to play and that was that – but he’s got a bit of a knee problem he doesn’t want to exacerbate because he’s looking for a move so he wants out, that’s how it looks to me,” he said.
“He’s been involved in the season so far, so what has changed in the last few days? Has some interest come in that suggests his clause can be activated and that he thought right I don’t want to make this problem any worse, so I can have a medical that I can pass with flying colours then I can go.
“That’s how it’s feeling but look whatever the intimation was, it might not be the same scenario as Gnonto, but ultimately he didn’t want to play against Birmingham. And I really do think it cost Leeds that at the weekend.”
Nightmare for Farke
You have to have sympathy with Daniel Farke, who has walked into an absolute nightmare scenario at Leeds United this summer.
Poorly devised exit clauses put in player contracts has left Leeds’ squad threadbare as it is, and now Gnonto and Sinisterra both are angling for moves away from Elland Road.
There are two schools of thought here. One, play hardball and say sorry you aren’t allowed to leave. On the other, do you really want disillusioned players in your squad when you’re fighting to get back to the Championship?
And if Sinisterra has the release clause inserted then does the first school of thought become moot anyway?
For Leeds, you get the sense that the best thing to do here is to ride out this window as best you can, try and add some bodies before the window closes, and really start to push on when all the business is done.
In the meantime, it’s about trying to cobble together as many points as possible.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have tabled an offer for a new striker according to Graham Smyth.