Leeds United were linked with a £5.2 million deal for Andres Guardado.
Laurens De Bock was dropped from the Leeds United squad completely for Saturday’s win over Brentford.
The left-back had a shocker in the 2-2 draw at Derby a few days earlier and Paul Heckingbottom claimed that his omission was linked to a compliance with the homegrown quota, with Tyler Denton replacing him in the squad, but really, De Bock would have been included if the Leeds boss wanted him there.
It’s not looking great for the former Club Brugge man and if he’s nowhere to be seen for Friday’s trip to Middlesbrough then the 25-year-old should really start to worry.
Prior to De Bock’s arrival, Real Betis utility man Andres Guardado was linked and El Gol Digital reported that the Whites were willing to spend £5.2 million on the Mexico international. In retrospect, was it a mistake not pursuing him instead of the Belgian?
If the 142 caps for his country didn’t give it away, Guardado is a very decent player. The former Valencia ace is a first-team regular for Betis, a team who sit eighth in La Liga and only three points behind Sevilla, who could still reach the quarter-final of the Champions League this season.
The 31-year-old can play defensive midfield and left-back, according to Transfermarkt, and despite his advancing years, you wonder if Leeds were better off paying an additional £3.7 million to sign Guardado rather than De Bock, who cost £1.5 million.
Of course, it’s far too early to label De Bock a flop, but the early signs aren’t all that promising and time will tell how costly it was to not move for Guardado, if the interest was accurate.
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