Here are your Leeds United evening headlines for Thursday, July 23.
Poveda tries to convince White to stay
Ian Poveda has taken a unique approach to secure Ben White’s long-term future at Leeds.
White, 22, joined the club on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion and has been in sensational form this season as the club cruised to promotion under Marcelo Bielsa.
The Whites would love to keep him at Elland Road, but face a tough task in doing so with Brighton no doubt keen to integrate him into their first-team squad.
That didn’t stop Poveda trying his best during an Instagram Live in the dressing room. The winger jokingly got White in a headlock and said: "Ben White here, he got the goal. Ben White - and he’s staying. He’s staying, I’ve got him in a headlock, he ain’t going nowhere.”
White laughed along with the joke, and Poveda was soon on his way elsewhere to continue giving fans a glimpse into Leeds’ celebrations.
Unsurprisingly the comments were littered with fans encouraging Poveda to sign White up, with one remarking, “Get the lad signed.”
Kinnear reveals transfer window confidence and the ban imposed by the club
Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear is not concerned about securing transfer targets for the club this summer.
The Whites are back in the big time after well over a decade in the Football League, and attention has already turned to which new faces will arrive at Elland Road this summer.
Kinnear is not concerned about the club’s ability to do business, however, and speaking on Sky Sports News he revealed that the club have banned holidays in a bid to be prepared for next season.
He said: “There’s been a lot of celebrations and a lot of hard work.
“It’s a very short window this year, we’ve got to strengthen the squad over the next three-to-four weeks.
“We’ve got to get the stadium ready to hopefully welcome fans back to Elland Road, so it’s a busy time but a great time to be at the club and working hard.
“We’ve got Victor Orta working with scouts on targets, we’ve got the stadium management team working on the stadium, we’ve got the ticket office looking at trying to get people back in.
“So no holidays this year.”
He went on to add: “I think we can be really competitive in the transfer market, people want to come and play for Leeds United.
“It’s a fantastic club with a fantastic heritage so we’re confident we can strengthen.
“We’re also confident in the squad we have, they’ve got some real momentum from this season, and we think they play in a unique way which will be hard for Premier League teams to play against.
“We’ll be looking forward to that fixture list coming out and looking at the grounds we’ve got to visit and the fantastic teams we’ve got coming here.”
Bielsa ready to outbid Premier League rivals for QPR star
Bielsa is eager for Leeds to sign Eberechi Eze and is targeting a £20m bid for the player, according to The Sun.
Eze, 22, joined QPR’s academy after his release from Millwall and has been in fine form this season.
He has been linked with London rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham United, but it is now being claimed that Bielsa wants Leeds to push ahead with a move for the mercurial attacker.
