The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Wednesday 7th August) Will Leeds abandon Rowe bid?
Good Morning. It's Wednesday 7th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Will Leeds abandon Rowe bid
Norwich City are demanding a fee of £15m for promising winger Jonny Rowe, according to various sources in the press yesterday. Leeds see Rowe as a natural replacement for Crysencio Summerville, who departed for West Ham earlier this week. They duly submitted an offer of £7m to test the waters, expecting some further wriggle room for negotiation, but would not have predicted they would have to double their bid to get their man. Rowe had a successful breakthrough campaign last season, scoring 12 goals and providing 2 assists in 32 appearances. He has one year left on his contract, but believe Norwich have the option to add a further twelve months to his terms.
Summerville had an attitude problem - Popey
Speaking on his 'Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet' podcast, Adam Pope pulled no punches, deliberating over Crysencio Summerville's sudden ER exit! The BBC sports journalist believes the club should have got more money for their star player, but admitted he thought the Dutchman had an attitude problem, which is why he 'wasn't unhappy' that he had left! It's been well documented that his attitude was called into question during the infancy of his Leeds career, but had matured, especially after Wilfred Gnonto joined, who was seen as a calming influence on Summerville!
It’s the one that at the beginning of the summer, which player is going to be leaving Leeds United? Archie Gray you thought there good chance if the money came in, but Summerville was definitely either first or second on your list. It’s happened, did I think it would be West Ham? No. Did I think it would be £25million? He’s worth more. He’s definitely worth more than that, but there will be add-ons and what have you so it’s happened, it’s gone. Am I unhappy? No, because I think there was an attitude issue. But I think there’s a lot of goals to replace.
This is my season - Joseph
Mateo Joseph has issued an ambitious statement to the rest of the Championship, ahead of their season opener against Portsmouth at the weekend. All the hard work is starting to pay off for the hotshot 20yo, bagging four goals during pre-season including a brace against Hannover, and is now widely tipped to lead the line this season for the Whites, ahead of team-mate Patrick Bamford!
Working hard has only been part of the battle. He has shown maturity beyond his years, waiting patiently for minutes, but then nailing the opportunities when given the chance. Speaking to the Athletic, Joseph feels calm, but has trust in his ability and believes this will be his season to shine!
Pre-season has been tough, it's been a lot of running but I like it because doing the training, I feel fit. It's tough, it's been hard but to be ready for the games we need to be like this. This is my season this year. I don't want to sound too confident but I can't wait to prove it and for the season to start. I did everything I could to train and improve, I see the improvement now. "When you do everything you can to take the opportunities, you have to feel calm about it and trust yourself because there's not anything else you can do.
They told me I have to be patient (for first-team opportunities instead of being sent out on loan), I thought it was a really good choice because you never know what can happen when you go to another place. I'm really happy I stayed, was calm and was given the opportunity. I improved a lot during the season, you could see that as the games went on. We had a good team so it was difficult to get into it, but I made it my space and this year I'm going for more.
