Leeds United leave it too late as winner named in race for Liverpool defender Calvin Ramsay
Leeds United have left it too late in their bid to sign Liverpool defender Calvin Ramsay after he’s now joined Bolton Wanderers on loan.
The League One club confirmed on their Twitter account on Monday (29 January) that the Scotland international has made the temporary switch from Anfield until the end of the season.
That is a potential blow to Daniel Farke’s plans to bring in a new right-back as he looks to add defensive reinforcements this month.
The Whites have been heavily linked with a move for the 20-year-old for the past few weeks since he was recalled from his loan spell with Preston North End.
The Daily Mail reported on page 69 of its print edition on 18 January that they were considering making a move to sign the defender on loan this month.
It added that he was included on a list of potential targets after Djed Spence was allowed to return to Tottenham and Luke Ayling joined Middlesbrough on loan.
That has massively depleted Farke’s options on the right-hand side of the defence, with Archie Gray doing superbly filling in there, while the injury-prone duo of Jamie Shackleton and Sam Byram can do a job in that position.
Ramsay became available after his recall from Preston, where he made just two appearances this season, largely down to him being forced to have knee surgery at the start of the campaign.
But his move to Bolton makes him one of the many options Leeds have either missed out on or decided not to sign this month for one reason or the other.
Given that he’s dropped down to League One, the likelihood is that the right-back, who Liverpool signed for £6.5million from Aberdeen in 2022, was deemed to not be good enough to strengthen their squad.
But there’s also a chance that the Whites took too long in making a decision, with the Reds now deciding to take an offer that was already on the table.
Either way, he won’t be coming to Elland Road and Farke now needs to have a rethink about who can come in to challenge Gray for a starting spot.
It just feels like too much of a risk to be relying every week on an out-of-position teenager when promotion is on the line, even if he is undoubtedly an excellent talent.
And it represents another failure after Leeds looked to be signing Daiki Hashioka but only wanted a loan deal and he has now seemingly headed to the Premier League with Luton Town [Daily Mail, 29 January].
The Whites seriously need to make some moves if they want to come out of this transfer window in a stronger position than they started it.
In other Leeds United news, a development has emerged in the Whites’ pursuit of a new defender.
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