As if any meeting with Manchester United needed any extra spice to it for those hailing from this side of the Pennines, the Whites could well go head to head with an old foe in Erik ten Hag’s line-up in Norway next week.
Leeds United will take on their rivals in red at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo on Wednesday afternoon in a pre-season friendly, and new signing Mason Mount may make his Manchester United debut after completing a summer transfer move from Chelsea.
The England midfielder is no stranger to encounters with Leeds carrying a bit of edge having been part of Frank Lampard’s Derby County side as the two clubs competed for promotion from the Championship back in the 2018/19 season.
That rivalry became a full-on feud following the ‘Spygate’ scandal that erupted midway through the campaign after Marcelo Bielsa had sent a staff member to observe Derby’s training sessions as they prepared to face his side.
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Leeds won both regular league games over Lampard’s side that season, with Bielsa saying after January 2019’s 2-0 win at Elland Road: "It is not illegal, we have been doing it publicly and we talk about it in the press. For some people, it's the wrong thing to do and for other people, it's not the wrong thing to do."
Lampard added that the same thing had happened prior to Derby losing 4-1 at home to Leeds earlier that campaign, saying: "Leeds can beat you 4-1 because they are a fantastic team, but they had someone in the bushes that day.”
Mount ultimately helped the Rams have the last laugh that season as they gained a measure of revenge over the two legs of the play-off semi-finals. The then-Chelsea loanee scored Derby’s second goal in their second-leg victory as they clinched a place at Wembley.
The midfielder then cupped his ears at Leeds fans in a mocking gesture after scoring the opener a 3-0 win Chelsea in May last year.
Lampard failed to guide Derby to promotion in the final, though, losing to Aston Villa in the final, and has since gone on to have unsuccessful managerial spells at Chelsea (twice) and Everton. Derby are now in League One after running into financial trouble after their failed tilt at promotion.
Leeds won the Championship in 2020 and have just returned to the second tier after a three-year spell as a Premier League club.
