“Strong possibility”: BBC pundit suggests good news could soon arrive for Leeds United

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Leeds United fans could soon receive some good news about their daunting Premier League clash against Manchester City on Saturday.

Sam Allardyce has the toughest start to life at Elland Road as he goes up against the reigning champions of England, in a game where the 68-year-old really needs to take a result back to Yorkshire.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium, Chris Sutton has suggested that a major boost could be coming the way of Leeds.

What’s the story?

Well, Sutton believes Erling Haaland could be rested by Pep Guardiola this weekend ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League Semi-Final against Real Madrid.

Adding to his comments on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Fantasy 606 – where he and others discuss Fantasy Football – Sutton tweeted: “My sources in North Norfolk say there is a strong possibility of Haaland being rested against Leeds with Madrid in mind… just trying to help the FPL (Fantasy Premier League) community.”

Now, it is hard to tell whether the 50-year-old genuinely has any inside information.

Nevertheless, Sutton’s suggestion should excite Leeds fans, as it would be a potentially decisive factor in Saturday’s encounter if Haaland doesn’t play.

Of course, Guardiola still has the likes of Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and more who can hurt Leeds.

However, Haaland – who now has 51 goals in all competitions this season – is the main man, and Allardyce would surely love it if he didn’t have to face the Norway international, who was actually born in Leeds.

Leeds almost signed Haaland before Manchester City move

Remarkably, Leeds could have signed Haaland for just £4m back when Thomas Christiansen was in charge.

Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, football agent Hayden Evans said: “Christiansen had stopped the session and came over to Erling and hugged him, talked about football and all the rest of it. That went really well and Christiansen was impressive, frankly.

“We said Erling, you know, let these guys sort everything out and we’ll see you in two weeks’ time.

“I think they wanted around £4m, but, quite rightly in a way, Leeds weren’t in that stable position they’re in now and even with the talent he is, he was not going to play first-team football at that age so it was seen as a step too far at that time.”

This will probably make Leeds fans feel a bit sick in all honesty.

Whether Haaland – a Leeds fan – plays against the Whites tomorrow or not, those at Elland Road at the time of this meeting will forever kick themselves that they didn’t pay the asking price.