Leif Davis could potentially be joining Leeds United in the Premier League next season. And not necessarily with Ipswich Town.
Three into two simply does not go. And even as Southampton threaten to fall away, only two of Leicester City, Ipswich and Leeds will have themselves an automatic promotion spot by the season’s end. As things stand, Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys are the team at risk of missing out, third albeit only on goal difference.
But that does not mean Leeds won’t find themselves coming up against a familiar face in the top-flight next term. Talented left-back Leif Davis is likely to be offered a Premier League opportunity of his own, with or without his fellow Portman Road heroes.
Former Leeds United man Leif Davis is a Newcastle target
According to talkSPORT, there is interest in Davis from West Ham and Newcastle United.
Born on Tyneside and a graduate of the famous Wallsend Boys Club, a return to the North East would obviously appeal to Davis, who may also feel he has unfinished business at the top level after playing only a pair of Premier League games under Marcelo Bielsa before being sold to Ipswich for just £1.2 million two years ago.
The irony is, of course, Davis would probably stroll into the Leeds United XI these days. As Junior Firpo remains a source of much division amongst the Elland Road fanbase – arguably at fault for Connor Gallagher’s late winner in the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday – a player who joined Leeds from Morecambe back in 2018 continues to go from strength to strength.
No one in the Championship has more than his 14 assists this term. In fact, since the start of last term, Davis has scored or assisted 31 goals in all competitions.
“I’ve got so much trust in Leif Davis’ left foot,” Ipswich team-mate Conor Chaplin told ITV’s Football League Highlights Show. “He’s so, so good.”
Most assists in the Championship
Manager McKenna, meanwhile, has no ‘doubts’ about Davis’ Premier League potential. The former Man United assistant will just be hoping that, when the time comes for Davis to grace England’s biggest stage, he will be doing so in the blue of Ipswich rather than the claret of West Ham or the black-and-white stripes of Newcastle.
“I think he certainly can (make the step up). I don’t have any doubts about that,” McKenna tells the East Anglian Daily Times.
“He’s still a young player who is only in his second season of regular senior football. He’s got a long way to go, a lot to learn, a lot to improve on.
“But if you ask me ‘has he got the ingredients, the attributes and the potential to do play at the next level and do well at the next level?’ The answer is certainly yes.”
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