When will the levee break at Leeds United? For all of the goodwill and affection held for Tyler Roberts and Alfie McCalmont, this post-relegation summer has been framed around the exits of more recent first-team faces.
If departures are to run into double figures, as expected, someone in that 22/23 side will need to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later. The protracted transition from Aser Ventures to 49ers Enterprises has not helped in accelerating any business matters at Elland Road.
A head coach is likely to be swiftly announced in the aftermath of the takeover’s ratification, but until then, many matters are being worked on in the background without the green light they eventually need. Angus Kinnear had put in the groundwork on transfers out of the club, with some help from chairman-elect Paraag Marathe, but interim football advisor Nick Hammond has taken the lead since his appointment a fortnight ago.
Robin Koch and Marc Roca have been among the most consistently linked names with transfers out of Elland Road since relegation. The prevailing rumours are sending them both back to their homelands with Koch in the Bundesliga and Roca in La Liga.
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Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Betis have been credited with the most advanced interest in Koch and Roca respectively, but there seems to be a similar hitch slowing each move down. Reports in Germany and Spain each suggest the clubs need to generate transfer income and make space in their units to welcome the Leeds pair in, even on loans.
Frankfurt daily Frankfurter Rundschau has suggested Eintracht “urgently needs to give up players in order to be able to continue investing.” Randal Kolo Muani, one of the most coveted forwards in Europe, has been talked up as a key, nine-figure sale which could unlock their transfer strategy.
In Spain, Estadio Deportivo has, more than once, suggested Betis also need to move players on for Roca to arrive. William Carvalho, who Roca would replace, reportedly needs to conclude a Saudi Arabia move before the Seville outfit could then redistribute their funds on a new midfielder.
Koch and Roca are not the only exits pending at Elland Road. With international football largely out of the way now, attention should finally start focusing on transfers. As with every summer, it can be just a case of who knocks over the first domino.
