Liam Cooper is the latest English-based player who could be on his way to Saudi Arabia with the Leeds United captain reportedly a target for Robbie Fowler’s Al Qadsiah outfit.
Jordan Henderson is not the only one who may be left feeling a little bit awkward as an envelope bursting at the seams with Middle Eastern money lands on his table.
Henderson, the former Liverpool captain and an outspoken advocate of LGBT rights, obviously felt that a staggering £700,000-a-week offer from Al Ettifaq was worth sacrificing his Anfield legacy for.
And while Liam Cooper’s own Saudi switch may not prove to be quite so divisive in the eyes of the wider footballing public, the sight of the Leeds skipper walking away from Elland Road after speaking so publicly about his commitment to the cause may still leave a rather sour taste in West Yorkshire mouths.
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has a decision to make
“After the Tottenham game when our fate was decided, I was one to speak up in the changing room,” Cooper recently told the Yorkshire Post; his Leeds side relegated thanks to that 4-1 final day thumping by Spurs.
“I made it clear (and said) ‘if you don’t want to be here next season’… I won’t repeat what I said.
“That’s the way it’s got to be. To play for this club you’ve got to invest in it. You’ve got to give your life for it. And certainly those in the stands won’t accept anything else apart from that. That was the message and the message is still the same.
“We need players who are invested.”
After nearly ten years at Elland Road – most of those spent wearing the armband – Cooper’s commitment may now be tested to it’s limits.
TalkSPORT report that an Al Qadsiah outfit coached by one-time Leeds striker Robbie Fowler have come calling. And you only need look at Henderson’s remarkable pay rise as proof of the staggering sums that could be earned in the Middle East.
Another defending leaving?
New Leeds boss Daniel Farke, a two-time Championship champion with Norwich City, could certainly do without speculation hanging over Cooper’s head. The 31-year-old defender is not only Leeds’ leader on and off the pitch. He is also an experienced old head in a rather youthful dressing room.
Furthermore, Farke’s backline already looks rather thin; Max Wober, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Rasmus Kristensen all departing this summer.
Leeds have also lost one player to the riches of the Gulf already. Rodrigo Moreno rebuffed Everton’s advances before moving to Qatar.
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