Leeds United left ‘really disappointed’ by major-impact transfer collapse when it was in the bag
Leeds United were convinced they were going to sign Roland Sallai in the transfer window and were “really disappointed” to see him end up in Turkey, according to Graeme Bailey.
The journalist told Leeds United News on 10 October the Hungarian attacker was expected to have a major impact in England as he looked to be on the way to Elland Road.
The Whites were heavily linked to signing him from Freiburg in the final days of the transfer window [Sky Sports Germany, 27 August], but the move never happened and he ultimately joined Galatasaray after the English deadline had passed.
Bailey said: “There are ones that got away, clearly. Roland Sallai, the Hungarian. They thought they had him so I think that was a bit of a blow for them. They thought they had him and there was a belief he could make a big impact in England, so that was a blow to them.
“He is a good player and at this level, I think he would’ve made an impact to be fair. He’s one they look back on where they will be really disappointed because they really thought they had him, and was coming in. He’s since moved onto Turkey so that’s one they were really disappointed by.”
Leeds United lost out on Roland Sallai before Galatasaray move
The end of the summer transfer window was a hectic affair as the 49ers belatedly scrambled to restock a squad that had lost a host of key stars.
If this season doesn’t end in promotion, or if things go south before then, it might ultimately prove to be trigger point as Daniel Farke was left unhappy after the deadline not to be provided with a number 10 to replace Georginio Rutter [Graham Smyth, 2 September].
The loan of Manor Solomon was anticipated to help plug that gap but the Tottenham attacker’s injury concerns have already been realised to trigger alarm for the rest of the campaign [Smyth, 26 September].
And with the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Joe Donnohue reporting on 13 September that the club backed out of a £9million deal for Sallai in order to embark on their controversial, and baffling, attempt to sign Gustavo Hamer from Sheffield United the whole affair looked a mess.
Central midfield may be where the worst injury pressures are but with Solomon and Dan James already missing multiple games the options behind the striker have been thin.
Coming into Transfer Deadline Day another late attacking addition seemed to be on the cards [YEP, 30 August], but with the Hamer pursuit going nowhere other than to upset Chris Wilder the failure to bring in Sallai may prove to be an enduring disappointment depending on how the season pans out.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites will “never” be able to admit if a mooted explanation is true after “something strange happened” to Illan Meslier.
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