Boss does not expect his player’s 8-figure Leeds move to happen; deal was reportedly close

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The FC Utrecht manager John van den Brom does not expect to lose the Leeds United-linked winger Gyrano Kerk ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

Leeds were strongly linked with a move for Kerk at the weekend, with The Daily Mirror reporting that the Whites were close to a £10 million deal for the 24-year-old and hoped to unveil him this week.

Kerk scored or assisted 17 goals in 24 Eredivisie games for Utrecht last season, helping them to sixth in the standings.

And one of his teammates, Urby Emanuelson – who played for Leeds’ English rivals Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday – told RTV Utrecht this week that Kerk was ‘ready’ for a move.

“I think Gyrano is ready, yes,” said Emanuelson. “We talk about that a lot of course.

“His departure would be unpleasant for the club, but he has gradually become untenable.”

But the sale of Sean Klaiber to Ajax on Thursday has left Utrecht with less of a need to cash in on Kerk, for whom offers from Italian clubs have already been deemed too low by their Dutch counterparts, according to Voetbal International.

And speaking via the Dutch website earlier, Van den Brom claimed that the interest in Kerk was no longer as serious as it once was.

“What do I base that on (that he thinks Kerk will stay)? On what I hear from Gyrano and Jordy (Zuidam, the Utrecht technical director),” said the 53-year-old.

“It was pretty serious around Gy but not at the moment. For Gy it is simply a countdown to Monday when that market (for transfers between major European club) closes. Then you have three months of rest – that’s how it works.

“The fact is that things always happen in the last week. You can see that with Sean and more can happen in the Dutch league. Let’s hope he stays.”

Kerk is one of several wingers with whom Leeds have been credited with an interest this window, with Daniel James, Demarai Gray and Douglas Costa among them.