Leeds United reportedly want Stoke City midfielder Ryan Woods.
Leeds United will be fearing that Kalvin Phillips will leave the club this summer, and they’ve unsurprisingly started considering potential replacements.
Phillips is wanted by Aston Villa (The Guardian), and as such a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side, finding players to target if he leaves is a smart move.
The Sun on Sunday (7/7; page 61) subsequently claim that Leeds have now identified Stoke City’s Ryan Woods as a target to replace Phillips in that holding midfield role.
Woods, 25, starred for Brentford in a similar role, before heading to Stoke City last summer – and his career has taken a dip since making that move.
Woods remarkably made just six appearances for Stoke after Nathan Jones’ arrival as manager in January, and he should be subsequently desperate for a move to Elland Road.
He seemingly has no role to play under Jones, and he would be going from a misfit at Stoke, to a vital role at Leeds given just how important Phillips was in an anchor man role for Bielsa last season.
If Woods can recapture the form he showed at Brentford, he could be an outstanding capture for Leeds. He’s diminutive but smart in and out of possession, he’s a relentless runner and possesses a great passing range, all of which should be ideal for Bielsa.
Woods needs to get out of Stoke this summer, and having the chance to play such an important role at Elland Road will be hugely appealing – but it all depends on Phillips actually leaving first.
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