By Craig Scott

18th Jul, 2019 | 1:55pm

Saiz in advanced talks with La Liga club

Samuel Saiz could finally be on the verge of leaving Leeds United for good as Marcelo Bielsa continues to show players to the door ahead of the upcoming Championship season.

Saiz, 28, was shipped out on a short-term loan to Getafe in January but since returning to Elland Road, the midfielder has failed to work his way back into Bielsa’s plans after the Spanish side snubbed the chance to sign him permanently.

Now, according to Football Insider, Saiz is in advanced talks to make a permanent return to La Liga.

It is not clear who exactly the Spanish top-flight club is, but the midfielder is understood to have been trying to secure a permanent move to his home nation this summer after dropping down the pecking order at Elland Road.

Leeds reportedly want £6million for the ex-Huesca playmaker, but after failing to attract buyers, he is now finally on the cusp of a “cut-price” return to La Liga.

Saiz’s exit will no doubt be met with relief from some of Leeds’ supporters.

Although the Spaniard impressed in his debut season at Elland Road when Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom were in charge, he reportedly fell afoul of current boss Marcelo Bielsa in the first half of last term.

That led to Saiz being sent out on loan to Getafe, where he failed to impress as he made just two La Liga starts.

According to stats by WhoScored, Saiz completed just 70.5 per cent of his passes in La Liga and averaged 0.9 key passes per 90 minutes of action in Spain’s top-flight.

Before he joined Getafe, Saiz’s form on the ball at Leeds was far more productive as he completed 74 per cent of his league passes and averaged 2.2 key passes per 90 minutes in the Championship.

Seeing how he has fared in La Liga shows just why clubs have failed to meet Leeds’ £6million valuation, but now that talks are at an advanced stage, it would seem as though someone is prepared to take the midfielder off the Yorkshire club’s wagebill and hand him his return to Spain.