Leeds United miss out on attacking signing after multiple bids tabled as transfer confirmed
Leeds United have officially missed out on a key target after Jonathan Rowe’s move to Marseille was confirmed.
The Ligue 1 club unveiled the former Norwich City winger on 23 August after winning the race for the 21-year-old, in what is reported to be a loan-to-buy move that will pay the Canaries at least £14million [Pink Un, 21 August].
Daniel Farke’s side had been looking to secure the Englishman as a replacement for now-West Ham attacker Crysencio Summerville.
The Whites made two bids which did not match the Canaries’ £15million asking price [HITC, 20 August], while Rennes were interested [Alan Nixon, 20 August], as were another French top flight side in Monaco [Santi Aouna].
Leeds United land Largie Ramazani Almeria
Farke has finally seen the club secure him some attacking reinforcements after Largie Ramazani was secured from Almeria, while Manor Solomon is on the brink of joining from Tottenham [Paul O Keefe, 23 August], but he will still need more to follow to get his team close to full strength.
Summerville’s exit, followed by Georginio Rutter’s to Brighton, has removed a huge chunk of the offensive output from last term.
Mateo Joseph’s performance in the 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday suggested the Spanish striker is developing into the next star at Elland Road, while Dan James also impressed.
But Leeds surely should have been better prepared for the possibility that release clauses might be triggered for Summerville and Rutter, with replacement deals lined up for when they were needed.
They are finally getting reinforcements in now as the days tick by into the final week of the window, but only after the frustrating pursuit of Rowe.
When Marseille were “blocked” from a deal looked to be a major opportunity for Farke to get his man but nothing materialised towards Elland Road and the Ligue 1 side came forward again to win the race.
The Whites will now have to hope that Ramazani at around €11million [£9.3m] according to The Athletic on 21 August, or Solomon on loan can be more productive than Rowe might have been.
In other Leeds United news, agents are trying to engineer another star man’s exit from Elland Road before the transfer deadline.
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