Leeds are reported to be considering a move for Swindon Town right-back Nathan Thompson.
According to the Yorkshire Post ‘Sources in Swindon’ have suggested that Leeds are looking at 22 year-old Thompson as a possible replacement for Sam Byram. The defender’s current contract with Swindon expires at the end of June but Swindon have the option of extending this for another 12 months, and they have named the player on their retained list.
The Wiltshire club are believed to value Thompson in excess of £500,000, which Leeds will only pay if a substantial offer for comes in for Byram. I would quite like to see us sign Thompson anyway to give us the option of playing Byram further forward, but Leeds don’t seem to be considering that option. If Byram were to go the alternative to signing a new right-back would be to play Peltier in that position, but last season showed that we’re better off with him in central defence.
Leeds have valued Byram at £8 million, a fee which seems to have deterred Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion, both of whom had shown some interest in our latest starlet. Roberto Mancini was also an admirer, and the transfer fee would be small change to City’s owners, but it remains to be seen whether their new manager will want to sign the player.
I don’t think a move to Eastlands would do Byram any favours at this stage of his career. With City able to assemble a big squad of established internationals and he could end up like Jack Rodwell, a promising player but limited to just the occasional first team appearance. It would be better for Byram’s development for him to stay at Leeds and play regular first team football.
It remains to be seen what GFH’s intentions are, but if they do sell Byram it will be a deeply unpopular move among the Leeds fans, as we’ve seen so many of our best players leave in the last few years. I suppose every man has his price, but if they are tempted to cash in, at the very least we will want to see the full £8 million re-invested by signing new players to strengthen the current squad.
What happens in the next few weeks will tell us much about GFH’s ambitions and whether they really do have the resources to take this club forward.