Good Morning. It's Tuesday 27th August, and here are the Leeds Utd headlines...
Ayling and Roberts put through their paces at Thorp Arch
Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts have both returned to training. The pair were videoed being put through their paces at Thorp Arch yesterday. Ayling had surgery on his ankle last month whilst Roberts had fluid drained from his knee at the end of last season
Bielsa said two weeks ago that there was no timeframe for their return to competitive football, but Roberts is expected to make a comeback before Ayling:-
"Week by week they are evaluating this process," he said. "Tyler Roberts will probably be ready and in the team before Luke Ayling. I cannot confirm the date. We are talking about players who are not coming back soon."
Leeds top on attendances after 5 games
Leeds United 35,228
Nottingham Forest 27,436
Derby County 26,533
Sheffield Wednesday 25,690
Stoke City 23,985
Cardiff City 23,272
West Bromwich Albion 23,054
Bristol City 22,603
Huddersfield Town 21,739
Birmingham City 20,934
Middlesbrough 19,946
Fulham 17,746
Charlton Athletic 17,274
Swansea City 16,089
Reading 15,285
Millwall 14,970
Preston North End 14,159
Blackburn Rovers 13,829
Barnsley 13,693
Wigan Athletic 13,494
Queens Park Rangers 12,861
Brentford 11,166
Hull City 10,456
Luton Town 10,056
In other news...
Who would you select for tonight's second round Caribou Cup draw against Stoke?
Laurence De Bock's transfer to Aris Thessaloniki has fallen through. The former Belgium International was due to join the Greek outfit on a season long loan. A fee of £500,000 had been agreed between the two clubs should the loan have been successful!
League One clubs can still sign players up until 5pm next Monday, while the Scottish transfer window remains open until midnight on the same date. Many European leagues have also set a 2nd September deadline for transfers
Stuart McKinstry is finally a Leeds Utd player. The 16-year-old midfielder turned professional back in the autumn of 2018, and had been tracked by a number of English clubs since.
Bielsa’s side agreed a compensation package that will see Motherwell receive a guaranteed fee with the opportunity to earn further, should he progress and/or Leeds sell him in the future.
“In an ideal world, we would have like to have kept Stuart for a bit longer and integrated him into the first-team pool,” chief executive Alan Burrows said.
“However, we were also understanding of the opportunity this was for Stuart and importantly, his desire to move there.
“The deal was actually agreed with Leeds back in the spring and Stuart has been down there with his new club since this summer. But it has taken a significant amount of time to complete the paperwork and receive the necessary clearance, which was finally concluded last week.
“Stuart is a local boy who has been brought up to be immersed in Motherwell Football Club. We thank him for all his efforts and endeavour whilst coming through the ranks and wish him every success in his time at Elland Road.”
