Leeds want to sign Arsenal midfielder on loan – report
Leeds United are among a number of clubs who are interested in signing Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reports that Monaco have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Smith Rowe, 20, on a permanent basis with Crystal Palace also keen to buy the Croydon-born midfielder.
Leeds and Fulham are said to be eyeing up Smith Rowe with the view to signing him on loan – which seems a lot more doable than a permanent deal based on Arsenal’s refusal to discuss that type of transfer with Monaco.
Smith Rowe spent the second half of last season on loan at Huddersfield, where he made 19 Championship appearances to help the Terriers avoid relegation to League One.
He scored two goals and supplied three assists in his spell at the John Smith’s Stadium, with his goals coming against each of Fulham and West Brom.
Smith Rowe also has a good amount of first-team experience at Arsenal having made 12 senior appearances for the Gunners and scoring three goals.
The England Under-20 international is very versatile – something which Marcelo Bielsa likes in his players.
While on loan at Huddersfield, Smith Rowe played mainly as a central midfielder but in the first half of the season he played on the wings and as an attacking midfielder for Arsenal in the Europa League, Carabao Cup and Premier League.
As much as Arsenal probably want to send Smith Rowe out on loan, it’s unlikely they would want to send him to Leeds after what happened with Eddie Nketiah last season.
Nketiah made just two Championship starts for Leeds in the first half of last term before being recalled by the Gunners.
They might not trust Marcelo Bielsa to play the midfielder as much as they would hope.
In other Leeds United news, one of Leeds’ transfer targets has skipped training today.