Leeds United have their eye on landing a Premier League player this summer, according to fresh reports emerging this week.
The Athletic’s James Pearce revealed that the Yorkshire giants have held discussions with Liverpool left-back Yasser Larouci over a potential move with the 19-year-old set to leave the Merseysiders in pursuit of regular first-team football.
He’s entering the final year of his contract and has turned down an extension at the PL champions, although it’s claimed that Leeds are unwilling to meet the club’s valuation just yet.
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The Algerian made his senior debut back in January featuring in an FA Cup third-round match against arch-rivals Everton and has only featured once since then, in the next round against Shrewsbury Town.
However, in the past, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been full of praise for him: “Yasser our 18-year-old left-back played against one of the biggest talents in world football [Jadon Sancho] and did really well.”
Whilst youth coach Barry Lewtas has also waxed lyrical about the teenager.
“Yasser has done extremely well for us. He is lightning quick and a real good personality. In terms of him playing in a new position this season, it has worked really well for us. Because he is so quick it helps in his one-v-one defending, he is aggressive and is good when he runs into the big spaces and he arrives well in terms of forward runs”
Marcelo Bielsa currently has Barry Douglas as the only true left-back at the club, but he’s often preferred Stuart Dallas and Gjanni Alioski over him at times this season, so perhaps the more-natural Larouci would be an interesting option to have.
Total Football Analysis’ scout report into him provides encouraging reading. They claim that he is a ‘talented dribbler of the ball, provides a lot of threat in the final third and offers a lot of pace as a left-back.’
Whether this one has legs going into the summer remains to be seen, but he’d be an intriguing option who would undoubtedly benefit from the coaching of Bielsa in the same way Jack Harrison and Ben White have this season.