Leeds summer left-back target Verboom moves on, but deal isn’t dead

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Charlie Taylor is expected to leave Elland Road sooner rather than later and Bryan Verboom has been tipped to replace him.

You could hardly blame some Leeds United fans for feeling a little wary as yet another grinning businessman took ownership at Elland Road. Yet, affable Italian Andrea Radrizzani, a pillar of calm and charm after the madness of Massimo, has hit all the right notes so far.

According to The Guardian, while Leeds’ new co-owner confirmed that the club would sit down to discuss an extension on Garry Monk’s one-year contract, he was equally unequivocal that in-demand left-back Charlie Taylor would not be sold in the January window.

Like his manager, the talented youngster will be a free agent in the summer but, unlike his manager, his long-term future appears to lie elsewhere. However, Leeds’ priority is that the 23-year-old remains at Elland Road at least until the end of the season as they aim to maintain their snowballing momentum.

The Guardian claim that Leeds have already rejected £7 million offers from Middlesbrough and West Brom for their latest homegrown starlet but the fact that his reported replacement has been allowed to move elsewhere without as much as a bid from Elland Road states just how determined they are to keep Taylor in West Yorkshire.

We reported in the summer that 24-year-old left-back Bryan Verboom had been identified as a desired alternative if Taylor was permitted to leave but, five months on, the Belgian has departed Zulte Waregem for Eredivisie outfit Roda JC on loan.

Reading between the lines, if Leeds are no longer expressing any interest in a replacement, that means there should be no one to replace.

Nonetheless, that does not mean any potential deal is dead in the water. Taylor is likely to move on in the summer regardless and, with Verboom in the Netherlands on a temporary deal only, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he is lining up at left-back next season, whichever division Leeds find themselves in.