Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship league-leaders Leeds United reportedly want to sign Charlton loanee Josh Cullen from Premier League West Ham United.
Once upon a time, a tenacious little tyke by the name of Lee Bowyer was ripping Champions League defences apart and establishing himself as one of the hottest midfielders in the European game.
But, while Josh Cullen is playing in the Championship rather than the Champions League two decades on, the former Leeds United legend believes his younger self had nothing on a 22-year-old Irishman enjoying his time on loan at Charlton Athletic from West Ham.
“He’s better than I was (at the same age),” Bowyer told the Addicks’ website, blown away by the quality of a Essex-born starlet with composure and maturity far beyond his years.
“He’s a young lad that can play football and gets into the box. He’s an all-around midfielder.”
20 years ago, when Leeds were dreaming of continental glory rather than merely a place in the Premier League, Bowyer was being described in very similar terms.
Amid reports suggesting that Cullen has emerged as a summer target for Marcelo Bielsa’s league-leading Whites with his West Ham contract due to expire in just over 12 months (Mail), Leeds might have a rather substantial advantage over rival suitors West Brom, Bournemouth and Norwich City.
After all, you’d imagine that Bowyer would be only too happy to push Cullen in the direction of his old employers.
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