Leeds United in talks to sign Celtic defender Leo Hjelde
Leeds United are now in talks to sign Celtic defender Leo Hjelde as Victor Orta continues his signing blitz at Elland Road, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claims Leeds also want to sign Valerenga goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson, Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher and Manchester United winger Daniel James with a move for Club Brugge’s Noa Lang proving too expensive.
Leeds have already signed Junior Firpo and Jack Harrison on permanent deals for the first-team while director of football Orta has also strengthened the Under-23s squad by signing Amari Miller, Sean McGurk and Lewis Bate.
Hjelde would likely be another Under-23s addition despite him being only 17-years-old as last season he played 12 times in all competitions while on loan at Scottish Premiership club Ross County.
Huge potential
Hjelde is a young player who should excite Leeds fans.
Even though he’s only 17-years-old, he’s already played in the Scottish top-flight and helped Ross County avoid relegation.
He’s a versatile defender who can play at centre-back and at left-back due to being left-footed and good with the ball at his feet. Last term, he played regularly in the full-back role.
The now-former Ross County manager John Hughes said that the Norway Under-18 international is going to be “the next [Virgil] Van Dijk”, which is just about as high a praise you can get for a young defender [YEP] and also called him “absolutely fantastic” [BBC Sport].
Hughes even mentioned that Leeds were interested in Hjelde before he went on loan to Ross County so there’s definitely something in this and it’s definitely not new interest.
Hjelde turns 18 next month so there’s no reason why he cannot be seen as a long-term replacement for someone like Liam Cooper.
He’s someone with a massive future ahead of him and can also offer something right away based on his loan spell at Ross County.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have agreed a deal in principle for this new signing.