Marcelo Bielsa is currently aiming to shape a Leeds future that involves Premier League football, but the Argentine’s pedigree could come in handy after TEAMtalk linked us with a move for Luca Murphy.
They are suggesting that we, along with Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, are aiming to offer Football League opposition to the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race for his signature, now that the 17-year-old has mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Hartlepool.
Murphy had been on the Pool’s books for the past eight years having joined their academy at the age of eight, putting pen-to-paper just over a month before his ninth birthday.
But the youngster made it clear to the non-league outfit that he would not be agreeing on a professional deal at Victoria Park, and have allowed their product to walk away now as they would not be due compensation even if he left in the summer.
Doing so represents a huge missed opportunity for Hartlepool, as there were reports over the winter that Fulham had offered a six-figure sum for the centre-back, even though he had not played a single senior minute.
If Leeds are now interested in Murphy, we could use the boss’s pedigree of blooding young talent into the first-team as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
The teenager would find it a much harder task breaking into the other clubs muted to be holding an interest, but could stand a great chance of demonstrating his ball-playing ways at Elland Road if Murphy were to join us.