Leeds better off keeping Kemar Roofe than agreeing £5m sale

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Leeds United striker Kemar Roofe has been linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer.

Leeds fans are fearful that their summer could be about to get a little worse in the near future with The Scottish Sun reporting at the weekend that Kemar Roofe is attracting attention, and the Whites are open to selling their top goalscorer for £5 million.

Roofe is out of contract next summer, and The Scottish Sun reports that Rangers are eyeing up a potential move should they lose their own top goalscorer Alfredo Morelos.

Leeds find themselves in a similar situation to the one that led to Chris Wood leaving Elland Road to join Burnley in 2017. Wood had just entered the final year of his contract with Leeds, and the club decided to cash in rather than allow the New Zealand international to leave on a free less than a year later.

Of course, on that occasion it was difficult to criticise Leeds’ decision. Burnley paid £15 million to sign the striker, according to BBC Sport. But what they did after selling Wood should leave the Whites in doubt that keeping Roofe for the final year of his contract is a better option than selling for £5 million, even if he is not going to sign a new deal.

None of their attacking signings really stepped up in the wake of Wood’s exit – though Pierre-Michel Lasogga did just about reach double figures during his loan spell.

Now that Marcelo Bielsa has two players he knows are capable of causing serious problems in the Championship in Roofe and Patrick Bamford, he would arguably be taking a gamble to let the former go, even if he was not as influential as Wood was during what proved to be his final full season with the club.

Another 15-goal return from Roofe during this coming season is going to be worth more to Leeds than £5 million, particularly if Bamford is able to step up if the former Oxford United man does endure any difficult periods in the campaign.

The situation is clearly not ideal. But with the cards that Leeds have been dealt, they would surely be better off trying to get another inspired season out of Roofe and taking a chance that he may leave on a free – having perhaps got them to the Premier League on his way out – than cashing in if £5 million is all they are going to get.