Leicester City had the chance to sign Samu Saiz for just £420,000 in 2016 – but the Leeds United attacker will be worth far more now.
As Leeds United discovered this summer, failing to earn promotion to the Premier League doesn’t do much good for your hopes of keeping hold of your star players.
There was a sense of inevitability when Leeds were forced to admit defeat over the future of Chris Wood, the Championship’s 27 goal top scorer in 2016/17, after The Whites fell just short of securing a play-off place.
The New Zealand international moved to Burnley in a club-record deal worth £15 million and has hit the ground running in the top flight with four goals to his name already (BBC).
And with Samu Saiz looking a cut above in the Championship already, it appears almost certain that the Spanish playmaker will soon be on the radar of a number of top flight clubs if he maintains his current form.
£3m well spent
Leeds paid £3 million to sign Saiz from Spanish second division side Huesca in the summer (Yorkshire Evening Post) and the diminutive schemer has repaid that fee with interest so far, scoring four goals in 11 Championship games and eight in all competitions.
On current form, Leicester City may be wondering why they did not take a chance on a player who, for some reason, was never handed an opportunity in La Liga. Spanish paper AS reported that The Foxes, who beat Leeds 3-1 in the EFL Cup on Tuesday with Saiz rested, were tracking the former Real Madrid youngster in the summer of 2016.
At the time, Saiz has a release clause in his contract of just £420,000 – far less than the £3 million Leeds paid for him in the summer.
Though a Leicester side who are still very much reliant on the inconsistent Riyad Mahrez for creativity may be wondering why they let such an opportunity pass them by.
After all, Leeds will ask for a huge sum if Saiz is targeted by top flight clubs in the near future – possibly around the £15m Burnley paid for Wood.
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