Leeds United midfielder Alfie McCalmont has sealed a loan move to League 2 side Carlisle United for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
Reported earlier by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth, the McCalmont deal is a straight loan move, with no buy-option (or obligation) for Carlisle written into the deal.
Straight loan, no option or obligation for Carlisle to take him permanently in the summer.
Ideally he gets into the side quickly and plays significant minutes, then gets a summer move to League One or the Championship. A promotion for Carlisle would be nice, too. https://t.co/MUfdAaUBai
— Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth) January 9, 2023
McCalmont is now 22 years old. He came through the Leeds youth academy and signed his first professional contract at the club in 2019.
The midfielder has four caps for the Northern Ireland international team to his name, but has only managed to make two competitive appearances for Leeds, coming in the Championship during the 2019-20 season under previous boss Marcelo Bielsa.
Since signing a professional contract at Elland Road, McCalmont has had relatively successful loan spells at Oldham Athletic and Morecambe, clocking up some respectable first-team game time.
However, despite being hailed as a future talent for Leeds, head coach Jesse Marsch is yet to call upon the Northern Ireland international during his tenure. Leeds will of course be hopeful that McCalmont can make an impact and play regular first-team football at Brunton Park.
We hope to see McCalmont playing a part in Carlisle’s promotion push in the second half of the season, and he still has plenty of time to fight for a place at Elland Road. With that said, it does feel as though there is little likelihood fans will ever see him breaking into the Leeds side, and a successful loan move could be something that attracts interest from Championship and League One clubs when the summer transfer window opens up.