According to The Athletic, Leeds United are looking into a loan move to bring Conor Gallagher to Elland Road.
While a move for Gallagher is extremely exciting, there is reason to be cautious heading into this one.
Gallagher would undoubtedly be brilliant for Leeds and the Whites feel as though he’ll be brilliant in Bielsa’s system, signing such a talented footballer on loan does come with its downsides.
Indeed, Leeds fans know better than anyone how much it can hurt to fall in love with a loan player only for them to head back to their parent club after their spell is over – just look at what happened with Ben White last summer.
White was unbelievable for Leeds during their Championship promotion season, but last summer, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t force Brighton to sell the England international, leading to a lot of frustration within the club and among the fanbase.
Gallagher could be a similar story if Leeds aren’t careful.
There’s reason to believe that Leeds, and their fans, will adore Gallagher in a similar way they adored White. After all, they think he’s well-suited to Bielsa’s style, and his stats back that up.
The hard-pressing attacking midfielder made 2.7 tackles per game last season, while he’s also previously been praised by Lee Bowyer for his workrate.
On paper, he looks like he’ll be the perfect midfielder for Bielsa’s Leeds, and that’s why they need to tread carefully when looking at this loan deal.
In our view, Leeds need to make sure they have an option to buy inserted in this deal, otherwise, they could end up being stuck in a similar situation to the one they were in with White last summer – and given their financial might, Chelsea will undoubtedly be even tougher to negotiate with than Brighton.
Gallagher is a player the Whites should be after, but they must make sure they’re not once again stung by the cruelty of signing a player on loan and losing them after a year of brilliance.
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