Leeds United were linked with a shock move for Roda JC’s Eredivisie left-back Ard Van Peppen in 2017.
Leeds United have come a long way in the last year. And, in Barry Douglas, they have arguably the best left-back in the Championship.
A £5 million signing from Wolves, the Scottish set-piece specialist has solved a problem position in Leeds’ squad and is proving to be a far more impressive addition than Ard Van Peppen probably would have been.
Back in 2017, the West Yorkshire club were linked with a rather bizarre move for Roda JC full-back Van Peppen by Roda JC live. The 33-year-old hardly looked like an inspired target given that he had not exactly stood out in the Eredivisie.
Unsurprisingly, Leeds fans were rather underwhelmed by reports that the veteran Dutchman could be on his way to Elland Road. But, one year on, has Van Peppen showed the Leeds fans were wrong to doubt him?
Not exactly.
An average Roda side were relegated from the Eredivisie back in May and, when preparing for life in the second tier, they did not wait around to release Van Peppen. Six months later and the defender is still a free agent.
“I would have thought that more clubs would show an interest, I am very honest about that and I did not expect (the interest) to be so minimal,” Van Peppen, who rejected an offer from Dudelange and has taken to LinkedIn to find a new club, told Limburger.
It remains to be seen where Van Peppen ends up next but it certainly won’t be Elland Road. Leeds have moved on to bigger and better things.
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