Leeds United
GOOD NEWS: Leeds United Confirmed Three Signings, And Are Set For Another Huge Deal
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder admits ‘every player has a price’ amid links between Leeds United and his defender, Jayden Bogle.
Bogle emerged as a potential transfer target for Leeds on Saturday, with reports suggesting they were ‘set to move’ for the 23-year-old as Daniel Farke looked to address a key weakness in his current squad. Having lost Archie Gray to Tottenham and seen on-loan Connor Roberts head back to parent club Burnley, the German identified right-back as a priority for the recruitment team.
Sheffield United activated an extension on Bogle’s contract earlier this summer but the defender is still into the final 12 months of his deal and so Leeds could force a decision at Bramall Lane, with the Blades cashing in or potentially losing for ‘free’ next year – they would receive training compensation. The full-back did feature in his side’s pre-season friendly win over York on Saturday, getting 45 minutes of football under his belt, and Wilder was quizzed generally on interest in his players after the result.
“There is a value in every [player],” Wilder told The Star. “We’re not a selling club, but we understand that, if there is any interest in our players and if there’s any bids, any club in the world will look at it and deal with it. From our point of view, we’re not intent on buying players and selling them below the price that we think that they’re worth. And that’s whether it’s one of the young ones or one of the older ones. Every player has a price and a value at the club
Get Inside Elland Road with Graham Smyth – the new newsletter packed with original, in-depth Leeds writing for less than £1 a week
“There have been a couple of offers that have been turned down and it’s got to be right for us. It’s got to be the right number, there’s got to be a thought process behind it. There has been interest but not to the extent of me standing here and saying here that X player won’t be here Monday or Tuesday or he’s having a medical elsewhere.
“We all understand that and I’m working with the group I’m working with at the moment. And their attitude since they came back has been spot on. I’ve said to the players here, if they think their future is elsewhere, all you can do is get your head down and work hard.”
Sheffield United have shown a willingness to enter talks for players in a similar position to Bogle previously, having sold key assets Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye last summer with both going into the final year of their respective contracts. But Wilder has already lost more than a dozen players this summer as part of a major overhaul and it remains to be seen whether they would do business with a direct promotion rival.
Bogle is also not the only right-back target to have been linked with a move to Elland Road, with Leeds thought to be weighing up a number of options. Roberts is well-liked by Farke and would provide some level of continuity, having been a presence in the dressing room during the second-half of last season, while Chelsea’s Alfie Gilchrist is of interest as a potential loan option.
