Leeds to land multi-millions as player Daniel Farke finds ‘a great character’ wants out
Leeds United were always going to have to consider sales in a crucial January transfer window.
Daniel Farke’s goal is to keep his side in the Premier League this season, and so far, the German is doing a good job.
The Whites are eight points adrift from the relegation zone, and the 49ers want to back Farke in the transfer window to aid their chances of survival.
However, the 49ers are aware of Leeds’ financial constraints this month, which makes the need for sales all the more important.
Thankfully for the Whites, Isaac Schmidt is a player who may just be about to slip some millions into Leeds‘ transfer kitty.
Isaac Schmidt prefers Werder Bremen stay over Leeds return
Leeds loaned Schmidt out to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen at the start of the season, as it was made clear that he was not going to get game time this campaign.
The Whites signed the right-back from Swiss outfit St. Gallen in the summer of 2024, but the defender was unable to make a mark in Leeds’ promotion-winning season.
- Schmidt has played 10 times for Werder Bremen
- He has scored one goal
- The Swiss has had spells on the sidelines this season through injury
- Werder Bremen have an option to buy Schmidt in the loan contract
Although Schmidt hasn’t been able to establish himself as a regular starter in Germany, the full-back has made it clear that he intends to stay with Werder Bremen.
Schmidt said, as quoted by Weser-Kurier on Thursday: “My ultimate goal is to stay at Werder. And if I absolutely want to stay here, then I have to do everything for the club now.
“I like it here, I like the fans and the city. It’s realistic.”
His transfer to LS11 hasn’t worked out, but Leeds are still in line to get some money back should Werder Bremen trigger the buy option in Schmidt’s loan contract.
- Read more: Alfie Cresswell set to be next Leeds youngster to leave after what’s happened at Thorp Arch
Schmidt’s purchase option and Daniel Farke’s thoughts
Leeds are readying a club-record fee to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen after their initial bid was rejected on Friday. However, the Whites understand that they will need to carefully structure the deal if they are to pull it off.
This is where Schmidt’s potential sale can come into play this month. According to German Football News, the 26-year-old’s deal with Werder Bremen contains a £2.6million buy option.
With Schmidt’s preference now publicly known, the Whites will be hoping that no time is wasted on Werder Bremen’s end, as they could secure the right-back’s long-term services as early as this month.
Farke labelled Schmidt as a “great character” prior to his exit, but sometimes it’s more than personality traits.
It was a transfer gamble that didn’t pay off for the Whites, but they won’t be too bothered if they can cut their losses as soon as possible.
Stay up to date this winter with our Leeds transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Elland Road, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.