Championship underachievers Leeds United are said to battling West Ham of the Premier League to Birmingham City’s Blackpool loanee Viv Solomon-Otabor.
Viv Solomon-Otabor would not be the most eye-catching transfer Leeds United have ever made.
But beating Premier League competition in the shape of West Ham to the winger’s signature would be the sort of statement Leeds really need to make in the transfer market – after the multitude of flops that arrived at Elland Road a year ago.
But West Ham United were said to be interested too. And although it would be a big ask expecting Solomon-Otabor to step up from the third division to the top flight in one summer, some of the Hammers’ best signings in recent years have come from the lower leagues, including Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell.
And although West Ham have underachieved again this season, flirting with relegation before limping towards a likely mid-table finish, they are still one of the biggest and most historic clubs in England – and would give Solomon-Otabor the chance to return to his London roots.
Leeds, then, have a big task ahead of them convincing the 22-year-old Nigerian-born attacker to choose West Yorkshire, even if first-team football would perhaps be easier to obtain under Paul Heckingbottom than David Moyes.
But Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta is under pressure to prove himself this summer and beating a massive Premier League club to Solomon-Otabor would be a deal that gets the fans talking for the right reasons.
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