“Not good enough” - Leeds United urged to sell £10m flop as soon as possible | OneFootball

“Not good enough” - Leeds United urged to sell £10m flop as soon as possible | OneFootball

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Football League World

·30 March 2024

“Not good enough” - Leeds United urged to sell £10m flop as soon as possible

Article image:“Not good enough” - Leeds United urged to sell £10m flop as soon as possible

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United loanee Rasmus Kristensen is due back at Elland Road in the summer at the end of his loan spell with Roma, but Football League World's United fan pundit doesn't want him to return.


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Two defenders temporarily left Elland Road to move to the Italian capital in the summer, with Kristensen and Diego Llorente both joining José Mourinho's side on loan. They have played 25 and 24 league games for the club, respectively, but only the Spaniard is reported to be wanted permanently by the Serie A side.

Kristensen's deal did not include an option to buy him this summer, whereas Llorente's did. Roma are set to trigger the clause that would see the central defender join them permanently, in a move that would reportedly see €5 million (£4.3 million) head Leeds' way, according to La Repubblica.

The Danish full-back, on the other hand, isn't shaping up to be an option in the summer for the Italian giants, as per Corriere dello Sport.

Leeds have had shortages at full-back this season, with teenager Archie Gray having to adapt to the team's needs. They did also add Welsh international Connor Roberts to their ranks in the January window.

Despite the lack of depth in these areas, FLW's Leeds fan pundit Kris Smith doesn't want to see Kristensen line-up for the Whites again, and would prefer that he be moved on.

Leeds fan doesn't want Rasmus Kristensen to return to Leeds United

Smith believes that Leeds should look to get rid of the Danish international, if they can.

"Kristensen just needs to be shifted on as soon as possible, for me, if we can get a club that can justify paying a decent fee so that we don't lose on the £10 million fee that we spent on him, which looks more baffling the more you see him play.

"He's been exposed dreadfully since minute one of his Premier League debut when he was bullied off the ball by one of Wolves' small wingers. Since then he's never looked good enough for us, whether that's in possession, on the ball, or defensively.

Article image:“Not good enough” - Leeds United urged to sell £10m flop as soon as possible

"After we got relegated, he went to Roma, and you're thinking 'He might have a chance under a good coach like Mourinho, and now Danielle Di Rossi, but he hasn't impressed there either. The fact that they want rid of him as soon as his loan finishes, even though they have their own right-back position issues, really says everything you need to know about it.

"He's not good enough for Leeds, even in the Championship. I'd be shipping him out on loan again, because that's the most likely outcome, or, if anyone wants to sign him, I'd just sell him permanently. He's not worth considering for a place with us, considering he jumped ship as soon as things got tough, and especially because an 18-year-old midfielder [Gray] is doing better than he did."

Leeds should look to move on most current loanees

There are a smattering of players that are on the club's books that were signed during the prior era, before the new owners and manager took over, that the club should look to move on in the summer. The likes of Llorente, Kristensen, Max Wober, and Brenden Aaronson will all have suitors out there; it's just a case of trying not to make too many losses from those sales.

Wober's temporary team, Borussia Mönchengladbach, are keen on signing the central defender in the summer, as per Gladbach Live, and they expect to pay around, or more, than the £11 million that Leeds originally paid for the Austrian, in January 2023. The loan deal for him did not include an option to buy in the summer.

This stance shouldn't be applied to everyone. The likes of Ayling, Drameh and Poveda are all scheduled to leave Elland Road for free at the end of the season, when their contracts run out. But, if they can make some money to invest into a squad that's potentially going to need to add Premier League quality, then making money on these players who haven't been used this season is a must.

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