Here are your Leeds United evening headlines for Thursday, January 7.
Bradford boss reveals Jordan Stevens interest
Bradford City co-caretaker boss Conor Sellars revealed that the club have monitored Leeds winger Jordan Stevens with the view of making a loan offer in the January transfer window.
Following a spell with Swindon Town in which he made only two league starts since October 20th, Stevens has been tipped to make a loan switch to Valley Parade, and Sellars admitted that Bradford have scouted him previously and rate him highly.
"Jordan is somebody that we are aware of," he said, as reported by Telegraph & Argus.
"Obviously, he’s been at Leeds for a few years now and we’ve watched him in their (under) 23s and at Swindon as well. He’s definitely a player that we rate."
Bamford admits to Rodrigo worries
Patrick Bamford admitted that he harboured worries for his place in the Leeds starting 11 when the club broke their transfer record to sign Spanish striker Rodrigo Moreno.
Bamford had been the starter throughout Leeds' Championship-winning season but was under pressure from fans due to his inconsistent scoring rate and doubts that he could step up to the Premier League level.
However, he has since scored 10 goals in the league this season and has played at least 70 minutes in all but one game, starting all 17 league matches to date, with Rodrigo mostly being used as an attacking midfielder alongside Bamford.
Nevertheless, that did not stop him from having doubts about his place in Bielsa's plans when Rodrigo arrived. "I was thinking; 'They’re signing the Spanish number nine, what’s happening here? I’m just going to be on the bench all season'," he told The Leeds United podcast.
"And [his agent] said, ‘no, I think that he’s looking at him because he can play with you, he can play number 10, number nine, number seven, number 11. He’s just an attacking player. And I think the fact that he were signing him motivated me.
"As soon as I saw him, you could see how good he was. On the ball, he’s brilliant. And you can tell why he plays for Spain. So once I realised that actually there’s a chance that I could play with him, it got me excited."
Poveda praises Llorente
Ian Poveda has praised the "really good" Diego Llorente and is excited about what the Spanish centre-back can provide the team when he returns from injury.
Signed in the summer, Llorente has struggled for fitness in his first season at the club, but Poveda believes that the defender can still have a terrific second half of the campaign.
"Everyone gets on with everyone. I’ll speak to them in Spanish or in English," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "Diego (Llorente) has been settling in quite well, he’s been unlucky with the injuries but you can’t really predict that.
"But it’s good he’s a really good player and we’re excited by what he has to offer us. We know we trust in him, we know he has a lot to give us."
