Here are the latest Leeds United headlines for Thursday, June 1, 2023
Marc Roca 'likely' to move
Leeds United midfielder Marc Roca could return to La Liga after just one season with the club. The Athletic report that the 26-year-old will look for a return to Spain following the Whites' relegation from the Premier League.
Roca joined from Bayern Munich last summer for around £10m but, despite being a regular under Jesse Marsch, he slipped down the pecking order under Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, despite Tyler Adams' season-ending injury. Adam Forshaw was preferred in the final games, and a move to Spain, where he began his career with Espanyol, could now be on the cards.
Roca played 36 times in his first season at Elland Road, scoring in the 5-2 defeat to Brentford in September, but only featured twice under Allardyce.
READ MORE: Sam Allardyce sends warning to Leeds United board before meeting amid 'imperative' decisions
Board 'blindsided' by Radrizzani move
Board members Paraag Marathe and Angus Kinnear were left dumbfounded when news reached them of Andrea Radrizzani’s Elland Road proposal on Wednesday night. The Italian’s indication he would secure a loan to buy Sampdoria against Leeds United’s stadium blindsided everyone at the club.
There are no filings at Companies House to suggest the proposal to Banca Sistema went through and United sources are confident the ground is currently safe from any such risk. However, there was widespread shock on Wednesday night when the news was broken to the club’s top brass.
When The Athletic, which broke the story this morning, went to United with the allegations, it was the first Marathe and Kinnear had heard of it. They did not believe it was possible for Radrizzani to make such a proposal without their knowledge.
Elland Road Limited, the company which owns the ground, has shares split between Radrizzani (71 per cent) and 49ers Enterprises (29 per cent). Yet, the Whites chairman saw fit to name the ground as collateral in an initial proposal to raise funds for his Sampdoria purchase.
The Athletic claims the Italian signed documents which show the ground was put forward as collateral for a £26m loan. United’s majority shareholder has devoted the past few weeks to taking over Sampdoria, alongside Gestio Capital, and finally broke through with those talks on Tuesday night.
FULL STORY FROM BEREN CROSS HERE
Thorp Arch 'prison' claim
Sam Allardyce has likened the situation he walked into at Leeds United’s training ground to ‘a prison’. Leeds were staring down the barrel of relegation when Allardyce was handed the Elland Road reins at the start of May, following the dismissal of Javi Gracia.
The club had gone five games without a win, conceding 18 goals in the process and with four tricky fixtures remaining, Allardyce knew he would have his work cut out if he was to save the Whites. However, the head coach claims he felt the need to immediately lighten the workload and the mood at Thorp Arch following his arrival after being informed that the squad had gone three and a half weeks without a day off.
“We changed training grounds, we changed direction in terms of the last game, playing at Elland Road and training at Elland Road for three days,” he said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. “We had some of the old players, iconic players, like Gordon Strachan, Eddie Gray, Gary McAllister come into the training ground and have a chat with the players about how much it means to them, what position they held in terms of when they played there. Gary was actually manager for a while.
“We sort of tried to relax the players, give them some time off. When we first got there, they hadn’t had a day off in 24-25 days, they’d been in every single [day]. Instead of a pleasant training ground, it becomes more like a prison, claustrophobic."
READ NEXT
- Sam Allardyce sends warning to Leeds United board before meeting amid 'imperative' decisions
- Andrea Radrizzani leaves more questions than answers after breaking Leeds United silence
- Leeds United news as young duo set for early return after World Cup heartbreak
- 'Quiet confidence' over Leeds United takeover, Brendan Rodgers chances and summer timeline
- Leeds United's first summer domino has fallen as Andrea Radrizzani decision to provide answers
