Leeds United turned down a chance to sign Tottenham star Harry Winks and Manchester United ace Donny van de Beek in the January transfer window.
According to The Athletic, Leeds United rejected the opportunity to capture the signings of Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek and Tottenham Hotspur ace Harry Winks during the recently concluded January transfer window.
Leeds had a quiet winter window as Marcelo Bielsa’s side made no new signings while they oversaw one exit as Cody Drameh left the club for Cardiff City on loan for the rest of the campaign.
But that is not to say that the Whites were not in the market for new acquisitions. Over the past month, Leeds had been linked with various players as they sought to bolster multiple positions in the roster. The centre-forward slot was one of the main concerns for Bielsa as Leeds have struggled during Patrick Bamford’s injury-enforced absence this term.
At the same time, Leeds were also looking for reinforcements in the middle of the park, having seen Kalvin Phillips and Adam Forshaw battle injury problems, while Mateusz Klich’s form has nosedived. A move for John Swift was touted while there were links to Nahitan Nandez. However, no progress was made on either front.
Now, it has emerged that Leeds had been approached by intermediaries who offered them a shot at signing Donny van de Beek from Manchester United and Tottenham’s Harry Winks.
Donny van de Beek’s struggles at Manchester United are no secret, with the midfielder finding it difficult to cement a place for himself in the starting XI. With regular game-time not coming his way, the Dutch international was pushing for a loan move in January and Leeds were handed an opportunity to sign him. However, they turned it down, paving the way for van de Beek to join Everton on deadline day.
As for Winks, he has also not been a regular at Tottenham for quite some time now, although he has seen his involvement improve under Antonio Conte. Nevertheless, the England international was linked with a January exit from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his services being offered to Leeds.
Having already rejected Winks back in the summer of last year, the Whites again turned the Spurs midfielder down as the club did not see him as an ideal fit for Bielsa’s plans. The Englishman ended up staying put at Tottenham, where he will now have to compete for a starting berth with new signing Rodrigo Bentancur, who arrived from Juventus on deadline day.
As for Leeds, they will have to soldier on with their current roster that has been hit with various injuries as they hope to steer clear from the threat of relegation from the Premier League.
