Director admits ‘interest’ as Leeds scout his ‘fantastic’ 21-year-old ace

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Swedish outfit Mjallby AIF are yet to hold talks with Leeds United for goalkeeper Noel Tornqvist but the club’s sporting director admits that ‘there is interest’.

This is not the first time Leeds United have travelled to Scandinavia to watch a talented young shot-stopper in the flesh.

The Yorkshire giants signed Kristoffer Klaesson from Valarenga back in 2021. And, according to Fotbollskanalen, Leeds are now returning to Northern Europe for another, scouts working on behalf of the Elland Road outfit scouting Noel Tornqvist during Mjallby’s 1-0 defeat to AIK last time out.

Sporting director Hasse Larsson insists that, as things stand, there are no active talks between Mjallby and Leeds. That could soon change, however.

Leeds United eye goalkeeper Noel Tornqvist

“There is interest, absolutely,” Larsson explains. “We’ll see what happens. We haven’t received anything concrete. We have only received requests.

“There were four clubs that looked at him, and there have been clubs that looked at him before.”

Tornqvist, at 21, is now a regular in the Mjallby XI. He has eight clean sheets in 23 Allsvenskan appearances so far this term. Capped three times by Sweden at Under 21 level, Tornqvist has also reportedly caught the eye of club’s in Italy’s Serie A, through Larsson insists his current employers have no immediate plans to cash in with a deal running until 2027.

“I think we have a contract for four more years, I think,” Larsson adds. “It is difficult to answer, but we are happy to keep him for a while longer. Then we’ll see. It depends on what comes.

“No bids have appeared yet.”

Back up to Ilan Meslier

At Leeds, Tornqvist would likely be a back-up to Ilan Meslier. His arrival would also raise questions over Klaesson’s own future. With his 23rd birthday approaching fast, Klaesson may feel that the time has come to play first-team football, even if that means he must leave Elland Road to find it.

“It was a question mark we had before the season,” Mjallby coach Anders Torstensson told Fotbollskanalen while explaining why Tornqvist had been promoted to the role of first-choice .

“We know that Noel is a good goalkeeper. Then it’s about defending the shirt as the first-choice goalkeeper. He made a mistake against Varberg and also had back problems in that game, but I think he responded in a fantastic way.”