“I have to play well”…New Leeds United target responds when asked about Elland Road’s interest

Joe Rothwell on loan, Jayden Bogle for £5m from Sheffield United and Alex Cairns in place of Kris Klaesson to become the club’s third goalkeeper. For the most part, Leeds have offloaded players.

Six sold, five loaned and more at the end of their contracts at Elland Road. But with Leeds returning from Germany after a summer training camp, the focus is likely to shift to a few future signings this month.

Leeds are leading the race to sign Ukrainian Gennadiy Synchuk

Reports emerged over the weekend that Leeds are one of four Championship clubs eyeing a deal to sign Metalist Kharkiv’s 18-year-old star Gennadiy Synchuk after tracking him for several months.

Derby County, Middlesbrough and Sunderland are also said to be interested in Synchuk, who recently helped Ukraine U19s reach the U19 Euro 2024 semi-finals in Northern Ireland.

German sides are also keen on Synchuk, but Leeds are said to win the race for Kharkiv’s number 9, having tracked his progress since the winter. He has made 30 senior club appearances.

What Synchuk said when asked about Leeds’ interest

While in Northern Ireland, Synchuk was asked about interest from Leeds in an interview published on fans website Dynamo.Kiev.ua. He was unaware of the interest, but his agents told him to shine in Northern Ireland.

“I don’t know anything about it (Leeds’ interest). You should ask Metalist management. I haven’t heard anything about any interest. They (my agents) didn’t tell me about it,” Synchuk said of his future.

“They just said I have to play well in Northern Ireland and we will see. For now, I’m with the team at the Euros. We will see after the tournament. Everything will be fine – I’ll start with Metalist.”