Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Saturday, October 10.
De Paul: Right offer would have seen midfielder move to Leeds
Udinese would have sold Rodrigo De Paul to Leeds United in the summer transfer window, according to an Italian football executive who has worked with the Serie A club in the past.
Stefano Antonelli told TMW : “I have been working there for 21 years with continuity and I know the Pozzo family, they have always been a selling club.
“If they had the right offer they would have sold him because they know cycles end. They know De Paul’s cycle is over, but an offer never arrived.”
The Argentine international midfielder was heavily linked with Leeds over the past couple of months, with manager Marcelo Bielsa keen on recruiting his countryman.
But The Mirror reported last month that the Whites were refusing to meet Udinese’s asking price of £35million for De Paul.
Whelan’s praise for Leeds teenager
Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has lauded Whites youngster Charlie Cresswell for his 'exceptional' rise through the ranks at Elland Road.
A graduate of the youth system, Cresswell made his debut for Leeds in the Carabao Cup defeat to Hull City last month.
Whelan told Football Insider : “When I watched him in the cup game against Hull, he was exceptional. For such a young lad at that age, he’s going to really develop into a top-class centre-half.
“The fact that now we’ve got three international centre-halves at the club, he’s only going to get better learning from them as well.”
Cresswell scored for England Under-19s on his debut against Scotland on Thursday, but the game was called off at half-time after a positive Covid-19 test for a member of staff.
Whelan added: “You know, God, it’s terrible, isn’t it? You get your first goal and then the game’s abandoned.
“It’s like your worst nightmare, you score a goal for your country and the game gets abandoned.”
New TV arrangement “is not right”
New pay-per-view TV arrangements for Leeds United matches could slow down fans’ returning to Elland Road and prompt illegal social gatherings.
That is the view of Leeds United Supporters Club co-chairman Chris Hall, who admits the world may be broken, but this new £14.95 charge is another misstep by the Premier League.
Under the new measures, the five matches not previously selected for live television broadcast across each weekend in October will now be available to watch legally.
However, the top flight expects fans to pay £14.95 to watch each match through the box office services of Sky Sports and BT Sport.
Mr Hall said : “We know finances are difficult for everybody. Who wants to pay £15 for a game on TV?
“We are definitely concerned about the implications of it and the implications of what can happen.
“Fifteen pounds on top of what people have paid is not right. We haven’t got our season ticket money back yet. The world’s broken.”
