Leeds United are still searching for fresh legs in the transfer market with the club reportedly linked with a move for Stoke City’s Ryan Woods.
The Championship is full of exceptional talents from Leeds United’s Kalvin Philips to a highly-rated youngster that Brentford have plucked out of nowhere for a nominal fee and he’s now causing havoc to opposition defences.
The London club did just that when they secured the services of Ryan Woods from League One side Shrewsbury Town in 2015 – albeit a recent struggle, he has been an outstanding Championship talent in recent years and he could be heading to Elland Road.
The Sun on Sunday (7/7; page 61) have claimed that Leeds will move for the Stoke City man this summer if they lose Phillips to interested party Aston Villa.
On his day, Woods can run any game from midfield in the second tier of English football, and because of what he can do with the ball at his feet, it can even be argued that he would wipe the floor with Phillips on his day.
The 25-year-old, who joined Stoke following their relegation to the Championship in 2018, has struggled to make his mark on the Staffordshire-based club, but if you get the best out of him then he’ll get the best out of others and the wins will stack up.
There’s no doubt that Woods’ outstanding talents are controlling the game, playing at his pace and picking out a pass from absolutely nowhere.
For a team like Leeds, who play so high up the field, that would be perfect because if he makes the ball talk in dangerous areas of the pitch then the opposition defence will find it very hard to cope.
There’s no doubt that a player like Phillips provides much better defensive qualities than the former Brentford man, but for Leeds, Woods might just have the better technique and forward-thinking abilities than Phillips.
Simply put, no-one inside Leeds will want to lose Phillips because of how important he is to them, and selling him would result in stability being rocked and that’s the last thing you need if you’re trying to win promotion.
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