Leeds United are reportedly set to keep hold of Tom Pearce.
According to reports from the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United will tie defender Tom Pearce down to a new three-year deal this summer.
The Whites saw Pearce, 20, emerge as a first-team prospect this season, displacing January signing Laurens De Bock under Paul Heckingbottom in a strong end to the campaign.
With five appearances and one goal under his belt, Pearce showed real promise for Leeds, and he is even in the England Under-21 squad for the Toulon Tournament right now.
Leeds have been concerned about Pearce’s contract status given that he could walk away this summer for a small compensation fee, with The Sun on Sunday (May 13th, page 63) claiming that Everton wanted to re-sign the defender.
Everton released Pearce in 2014, paving the way for his move to Leeds, and that decision now looks even worse as the youngster gets set to pen a new deal at Elland Road.
Everton have relied upon Leighton Baines for many years now, but the former England international turns 34 later this year, and it has become clear that the Toffees don’t have a plan for his successor.
Time and money has been spent on Brendan Galloway and Luke Garbutt, but neither look to have futures on Merseyside, and failing to bring back Pearce will only magnify their decision to release him four years ago.
Spending to bring players back never looks great, as was the case with Manchester United and Paul Pogba, but missing out on Pearce means Everton are going back to the drawing board in their pursuit of Baines’ successor – when the man they wanted may have been under their nose for some time.
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