Leeds United were keen to land Marley Watkins from Barnsley this summer but Norwich City got there first.
Many Leeds United supporters were left frustrated with the club’s failure to land Marley Watkins in the summer. The winger had shone for Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in 2016/17, scoring 10 goals and assisting seven, and looked like a brilliant signing on paper with his contract expiring in July.
The Mail claimed that Leeds had been tracking Watkins for a number of months. But, on the same day he became a free agent, Norwich City announced the signing of the former Swansea City youngster on a three-year deal.
If Leeds fans were disappointed at their failure to add some much-needed goal threat to a midfield that underperformed in the final third under Garry Monk, however, Watkins dreadful start to life at Norwich has made missing out easier to swallow.
More suspensions than goals
The 26-year-old has started just four Championship games for The Canaries and, after missing a whole host of chances on his debut against Fulham, things haven’t got much better since.
Watkins is still yet to open his account for Norwich and a ridiculous straight red picked up for a late lunge on Chris Gunter against Reading on Saturday means he will miss the club’s next three fixtures.
And it’s a measure of Leeds’ impressive summer recruitment that you wonder whether Watkins would even get into their current starting XI. Samu Saiz and Ezgjan Alioski, brought in from the Spanish second division and Switzerland respectively, have added real class and guile alongside last season’s assist king Pablo Hernandez.
Watkins has the quality and the class to be an excellent signing for Norwich once he settles into life at Carrow Road. For now, however, the fact that Leeds’ long-running interest came to nothing does not look a disaster.
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