Leeds United have been linked with a summer move for Callum O’Dowda, and the winger has now commented on his future.
Callum O’Dowda has confirmed to RTE Sport that there is interest in him this summer, but insisted that he is solely focused on the Republic of Ireland for the time-being.
The Daily Mirror (21/5; page 49) claimed last month that Leeds are plotting a fresh move for the £10 million-rated star after failing to get their man during the January transfer window.
O’Dowda’s future has become a key talking point during this window with RTE Sport reporting that he is out of contract at Bristol City at the end of next season. And while he was not too specific about where it was coming from, he did suggest ahead of his country’s Euro 2020 qualifiers with Denmark and Gibraltar that there is interest in him this summer.
“I haven’t really been thinking about it to be honest,” he told RTÉ Sport when asked about his future. “My season hasn’t finished yet. I know I had my hiccup injury where it knocked me out of my stride a little bit, my fitness, so to be fair my main focus will be on these two games so I want to put that to bed for the moment.”
“Obviously there is interest, there is always interest, because season after season just because my contract is running out next season there is always going to be conspiracy theories and stuff about it, so at the moment, I am a Bristol City player and my main focus is on the game on Friday and Monday.”
It remains to be seen if the Whites are back in the race to sign the 24-year-old. But it arguably would not be a huge surprise if Marcelo Bielsa was keen to bolster his wide options with Jack Harrison returning to Manchester City following the end of his loan spell.
O’Dowda scored four goals and contributed four assists in the Championship this past season, and is young enough to make further improvement. His record from this past campaign immediately looks a lot better when you consider that he started just 20 times and made a further 11 appearances from the bench.
Much will surely depend on whether Leeds have the funds to meet his asking price. If the Robins do want anything like £10 million for the youngster, then the Whites will surely back away from the chase.
But with his deal set to expire at the end of next season, Leeds may be hoping that a compromise can be reached with Lee Johnson’s men.
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