Leeds United are reportedly not the only side interested in signing Kyle Bartley this summer.
Bartley is a player that the large majority of the Leeds supporters would love to see back at Elland Road after a superb loan spell where he nearly lead the Whites to the play-off places. His absence seemed to cost the side dearly last season, and it is little surprise that they are keen on a deal.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reported back in April that Leeds were planning to make a move for Bartley, so the fans would certainly be forgiven for becoming anxious with no deal done and the Mirror now suggesting that the Baggies and Blues are also in the chase.
In some ways, it was a brave move from Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta to pursue a deal for the centre-back, and it is probably a pursuit that they would have preferred to not become common knowledge until Bartley had put pen to paper on a move to Elland Road.
If Leeds can sign Bartley, it is the kind of signing that would unite the fans in a way that the club’s signings rarely have in recent years. If they manage to get it done, Radrizzani and Orta will be receive a large number of plaudits.
Missing out however, surely piles the pressure on. They have dangled the carrot in front of the fans, and losing out would see a lot of optimism evaporate, especially if he joined a Championship rival – particularly, if that rival was Garry Monk.
Seeing Bartley head elsewhere would surely make it imperative that the Leeds hierarchy pull something big out of the bag in the remaining weeks of the window so that not signing the 27-year-old does not seem as big a blow.
If Leeds do not land a marquee defensive leader during the remaining weeks of the window, then Radrizzani and Orta need to brace themselves for a potentially large amount of criticism if the side look vulnerable again, and missing out on Bartley would probably see that potential criticism move to a completely different level.
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