Laurens De Bock has an uncertain future at Leeds United. The 26-year-old fell down the pecking order just months into his debut season and became surplus to requirements last summer. He joined KV Oostende on a season-long loan in August and has recently returned to Leeds, but he’s expected to be offloaded when the transfer window opens.
The Belgian left-back has made just seven appearances in all competitions since joining Leeds from Club Brugge in January 2018, the last of which came against Reading 14 months ago. Leeds have Barry Douglas, Leif Davis, Ezgjan Alioski, Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi who can operate on the left side of defence, so there may not be room for the returning loanee.
His season-long stint back in Belgium hasn’t exactly gone to plan either, with Oostende sporting director Hugo Broos revealing that the club won’t sign De Bock on a permanent deal as they’ve procured the signature of Borja Nastic. De Bock made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Jupiler Pro League side, scoring two goals.
Leeds paid around £1m for the 26-year-old and would likely expect a similar fee to sell him as De Bock still has three more years on his deal.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Opinion: Midfielder could leave Leeds, club could sell £16k-per-week man for £5.5m