Leeds United feared legal implications in Luis Sinisterra transfer case after rejected Nice bid – Phil Hay
Leeds felt compelled to allow Luis Sinisterra to leave on deadline day as they feared legal implications following a previously rejected bid, reports Phil Hay.
Writing on their official website (2 September), The Athletic journalist reports that the Whites rejected an approach from Ligue 1 club Nice earlier in the window which the player and his camp felt triggered his release clause.
Leeds disagreed but because of the risk of the situation dragging on into a court case, with Jean-Kevin Augustin fresh in the memory, the club decided to let him go so long as they could secure a replacement.
“Sinisterra, the last act in the drama yesterday, summed everything up,” he wrote.
“The release clause in his contract expired midway through August but in his view and that of his camp, Leeds had not honoured the clause as they should have done following a prior approach from Nice, an approach which was rejected.
“United disagreed but as this week wore on, the club were increasingly concerned that obstructing the winger’s exit would result in a protracted court case, stemming from legal objections made by his camp.”
Smart
Obviously no Leeds fans wanted to lose any of our starters on deadline day, especially with Daniel Farke being so confident in his press conference earlier in the afternoon.
But when you take the whole situation into account, with the fact the player was quite clear in the fact he wanted to be playing at a higher level, then this was probably the right decision.
If Sinisterra and his camp were forced to stay at Elland Road beyond the deadline then you’d surely not have heard the end of the issue, and we’ve already seen that the player has been willing to down tools and stop playing.
Had we ended up being stuck with an unhappy player between September to January, that could really have unravelled our season as we push for promotion to the Premier League.
Jaidon Anthony’s arrival means we’re not short on options and we have players in the squad who wanted to be here. It’s a win-win for everyone.
In other Leeds news, star man rejects last-gasp £38.5m move to stay at Elland Road.