MOT View: Leeds 27y/o permanent exit seems nailed on after major Euro league development
It seems nailed on that left-back Laurens De Bock will leave Leeds United on a permanent basis in the summer.
De Bock, 27, is one of Victor Orta’s failed signings with the full-back appearing just seven times for the Whites since his £1.5million arrival in January 2018.
The Belgian defender has been farmed out on loan to Oostende, Sunderland and current club ADO Den Haag, who snapped him up in January with the option to buy him on a permanent basis.
It is unclear how much Den Haag would have had to pay to sign De Bock from Leeds but the Dutch club were facing a huge threat of relegation from the Eredivisie before the coronavirus pandemic led to football leagues being suspended across Europe.
Den Haag were 17th – second from bottom – before the Eredivisie was put on pause and were on a winless run of seven matches.
If Den Haag were relegated then the chances of them signing De Bock would have no doubt taken a blow because it may have been tougher for them to finance the deal and the player might be less inclined to join a second-tier club in the Netherlands.
But Den Haag’s fate has already been sealed as last week it was confirmed that the KNVB have declared the 2019/20 season null and void.
The Eredivise will have no champion, no relegation and there’ll be no promotion from the league below.
Alan Pardew’s side had been saved (although he’s now left the club).
De Bock was a key player for Pardew since he moved to Den Haag in the January transfer window with him starting all eight of the Eredivisie games he’s been available for.
Now that Den Haag’s top-flight status is secure for next season – whenever that starts – then you can bet that De Bock will make the full-time switch to the Dutch city and finally ending his miserable spell at Leeds.
In other Leeds United news, a BBC journalist has responded to a fan asking about whether Marcelo Bielsa will stay if the season is voided.