Pablo Hernandez’s Leeds United contract expires in July and former Whites manager Garry Monk is plotting a reunion at Championship rivals Birmingham City.
It is fair to say all eyes will be on Victor Orta during the summer transfer window.
Leeds United’s director of football is under huge pressure from supporters, with the vast majority of the players he brought to Elland Road last summer struggling to make the grade in the second tier of English football.
So Orta, who quickly became unpopular at former club Middlesbrough for a series of underwhelming signings, will be under huge scrutiny as the transfer window looms large once again.
And losing Pablo Hernandez would be the worst possible start for Orta. The popular Spanish play-maker will be out of contract in July and, despite the fans clamouring for him to be handed a new contract, Orta has done nothing yet to suggest he will keep the former Swansea schemer at Elland Road.
So reports in the Sunday People (18 March, page 65) that former Leeds manager Garry Monk is hoping to lure Hernandez to Birmingham City this summer should be a cause for concern.
Birmingham may be struggling at the wrong end of the Championship table, but the 32-year-old has worked with Monk before at Leeds and Swansea so would surely be tempted by a reunion at St Andrews.
Losing a player who has contributed directly to 12 league goals this season would be bad enough for Leeds fans. Seeing him link up with Monk would rub salt into the wounds and do nothing to improve Orta’s reputation among the Elland Road faithful.
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