Leeds United signed the big defender 18 months ago but now could reportedly ditch him.
If Aapo Halme’s going to make it in English football, it won’t be at Leeds United.
That’s because the 21-year-old defender is on the brink of joining Barnsley on a permanent deal, according to Finnish outlet Helsingin Sanomat.
There are quite a lot of Leeds fans who might disagree with Victor Orta’s ruling here, and could the Spaniard regret it? It’s very possible.
Four Championship appearances in 18 months would indicate that Halme has flopped in West Yorkshire, but those numbers paint an unflattering and frankly inaccurate picture of the situation.
He was specifically signed as a Under-23 player by Orta in January of 2018, but the towering centre-back picked up an injury early on and never played for Carlos Corberan’s side that season.
Halme was, however, drafted into Marcelo Bielsa’s senior squad as a last resort for a short time last season, but he impressed United supporters nonetheless and scored in an FA Cup defeat by QPR in January.
At 21, this is still a very young player but one with plenty of potential and you wonder how much better he could have become while working regularly under a coach like Bielsa.
Orta, to his credit, does get it right a lot of the time when he offloads players like Halme, but this is one who could come back to haunt the Leeds’ Director of Football.
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