Interest in Leeds Rhinos’ Jake Connor has been piqued by Ian Watson after a failed trial

Ian Watson has revealed that Leeds Rhinos have shown an interest in signing Jake Connor – but insisted they will not make the move. The England international has recently been offered on loan to a number of clubs and it has emerged that Leeds have shown an interest in securing his services.

Leeds face the prospect of facing Leigh Leopards on Friday without both Ash Handley and Harry Newman, who were ruled out of the game following injuries sustained in the defeat to Hull FC. That prompted them to make a play for Connor, who has not been selected for two of Huddersfield’s last three games.

Leeds are understood to have raised their hopes of securing a short-term loan move to the point where they were prepared to leave a space open for him in their 21-man squad. However, that won’t happen now and it should be noted that Leeds have been uncharacteristically slow in naming their extended squad for Friday’s clash. They added young Wigan Warriors prop Sam Eseh on loan.

Instead, he will be named in Huddersfield’s 21-man squad for Saturday’s trip to Catalans Dragons, although Watson appears to suggest he will not feature once more. Despite this, the Giants boss decided to keep him around for now.

When asked about Leeds’ interest, Watson said: “There’s been a bit of interest in that, but like I said, he’s in our squad, he’s traveling with us to the Catalans, so there’s nothing going on at the moment “.

He added: “I think there was a bit of interest, to be honest, but we can’t do anything this week. We go to the Catalans tomorrow morning, we can’t do anything this week now.”

Asked how he’s getting back into the team, Watson added: “He’s doing what he’s been doing. Keep your head down, keep working hard and earn everyone’s respect for how hard you work and how you respond to exiting the team. .”

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