Samu Saiz has reportedly played his final game in the Championship for Leeds United, with a move to La Liga outfit Getafe edging closer.
Depending on which side of the fence you are standing, Samu Saiz’s impending return to Spain is either a dagger through the heart of Leeds United’s promotion bid or an opportunity to make a healthy profit on a player who is more trouble than he is worth.
A year-and-a-half after Saiz arrived in West Yorkshire with bleached blonde hair, a clinical cup hat-trick and a spitting scandal, the mercurial Spaniard is on his way back to sunny Spain despite Leeds being in the midst of a promotion challenge.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that Saiz has probably played his last game for the club ahead of an expected move to Getafe which should eventually cost £6 million – twice the fee Leeds paid Huesca back in 2017.
The question, inevitably, will quickly return to whether Leeds will attempt to replace Saiz, whose departure has come out of the blue despite being in and out of Marcelo Bielsa’s starting XI of late.
There are certainly a number of creative talents in the Championship capable of replacing the former Real and Atletico Madrid prospect. Jota, for instance.
Like Saiz, Birmingham City’s £6 million record signing is a typically fleet-footed Spaniard capable of carving open opposition defences on his day. He has more assists than Saiz (five compared to four) and would perfectly fit into Bielsa’s high-octane attacking style.
Leeds fans were furious on Twitter last year when the club failed to rival Birmingham for Jota’s signature. And, with Saiz on his way out, the former Brentford and Eibar winger looks every bit the perfect replacement.
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