Report suggests Leeds have no option to buy Jamal Blackman permanently

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Leeds United have completed their second signing of the summer with Jamal Blackman arriving on a season-long loan.

According to a report from the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds have no option to buy Jamal Blackman at the end of his loan spell, with Chelsea not willing to consider any permanent bids for the goalkeeper this summer.

The 24-year-old has become the Whites’ second acquisition of the window, as he follows Blues teammate Lewis Baker through the Elland Road door on a similar deal to the midfielder.

Blackman will be hoping that he can replicate much of the form that he showed at Sheffield United last season as Chris Wilder’s men spent much of the campaign establishing themselves as the division’s surprise package before tailing off in the latter stages.

It seems incredibly likely that Blackman – who does boast a Champions League winner’s medal – will take on the number one spot in Marcelo Bielsa’s side, and he will be hoping that he can help Leeds finally end their wait to get back into the top flight.

However, any hope Leeds may have had of potentially signing the stopper permanently appear to have been dashed. The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that Chelsea deem Blackman to have the potential to break into the first-team at Stamford Bridge in future and thus, had no desire to consider anything other than loan bids and have made sure that there is no option for Leeds to buy next summer.

While it is potentially a blow for Leeds that there appears to be little scope for a deal to last longer than one season – perhaps they may be able to agree another loan spell this time next summer – Chelsea’s terms arguably emphasise what a good piece of business it is to get Blackman in at all.

The Premier League side have the World Cup’s best goalkeeper on their books and could go out and buy almost any stopper they like if they wanted, so their desire to hold onto Blackman is a serious statement regarding how highly they rate him.

And while it may not do Leeds any favours when it comes to potentially signing the goalkeeper permanently, Bielsa will be hoping that Blackman proves exactly why Chelsea are so optimistic about the stopper during the coming campaign.