Championship promotion chasers Leeds United could raid Premier League side Southampton for highly-rated youngster Sam McQueen?
When Ryan Bertrand and Matt Targett found themselves on the sidelines with injuries in the first half of last season, Sam McQueen seized his chance to impress in Southampton’s starting XI.
The midfielder did a sterling job when stepping in as a makeshift left-back, but he was never going to keep his place once England international Bertrand was back to full fitness.
And with McQueen making just six appearances in all competitions for the Saints this season, it makes sense that he could leave on loan in January in order to get more first-team football under his belt.
The Sun (5th January, page 60) reports that the 22-year-old could be heading to the Championship on a short-term deal with Leeds United, Reading and Brentford all keen to sign him on loan.
The interest from Leeds makes perfect sense. Left-back has been a problem position for their manager Thomas Christiansen all season with Gaetano Berardi, a right-sided defender by trade, forced to fill in with mixed results.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (below) has failed to impress on loan from Manchester United with just one Championship appearance to his name. While Vurnon Anita, Stuart Dallas and Ezgjan Alioski are hardly natural replacements for the departed Charlie Taylor.
On paper, then, McQueen would be a good addition. But it is difficult to ignore the feeling that he would be little more than a short-term fix.
A number of Leeds fans have questioned owner Andrea Radrizzani for an apparent reluctance to put his hand in his pocket, and signing the Saints’ academy graduate on a temporary deal could be seen as a lack of ambition or simply a way of putting off the need to pay up for a long-term Taylor replacement.
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