Leeds United Chief Executive Angus Kinnear has confirmed that he is in talks with Arsenal and on-loan striker Eddie Nketiah over his future at Elland Road.
Nketiah joined the club on a one-season deal on Deadline Day in August following the departure of last season’s top goalscorer Kemar Roofe, but has struggled to become a mainstay of manager Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.
The England U21 international has featured in 15 of our 24 Championship fixtures to date, though Bielsa is yet to field Nketiah in the starting line-up of a league game.
Arsenal hold a recall clause as part of the agreement we struck to sign Nketiah on loan in the summer, which will become active in January depending on the minutes he has played.
Being resigned to outings solely from the bench in the second-tier has restricted the minutes Nketiah has been able to play, to the point that the 5 ft 8 centre-forward has accumulated just 373 minutes of game time after his cameo against Preston North End on Boxing Day.
Reports have suggested that Arsenal are preparing to activate their clause, but Kinnear addressed the concerns surrounding Nketiah’s future in the programme notes for our league encounter with Preston.
Would we miss Nketiah if he is recalled?
Yes
No
“I appreciate much speculation still surrounds the immediate future of Eddie Nketiah and although Arsenal have the right to recall him in January, we still believe he can make a huge impact over the remainder of the season at Leeds United,” he wrote, via quotes by the Daily Star.
“Accordingly, we are endeavouring to convince Eddie and the technical team at Arsenal that the coaching environment and the profile of the playing opportunity at Thorpe Arch and Elland Road is still the best choice for his long-term development”
Nketiah has scored three goals in the Championship this season, along with two in the Carabao Cup, while averaging 1.0 shots per league game, taking 11.4 touches, successful with 55% of his dribbles, wins 36% of his total duels, loses possession 3.9 times and has missed four big chances.
In other Leeds United news, a second club have entered the race to land a 5 ft 6 Whites man in January.