According to reports in The Sun, Sunderland are keen to re-sign midfielder Grant Leadbitter from Middlesbrough before the transfer window slams shut at the end of this month.
The Sun says that even though the 31-year-old is club captain at the Riverside Stadium, he is likely to find first team football hard to come by under new boss Garry Monk this season.
Leadbitter, who is valued at just £1.8m by transfermarkt.com, was an unused substitute in their 1-0 opening day Championship defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, and the report adds that Simon Grayson could look to sign him in a cut-price deal as he has just one year left on his Boro contract.
Meanwhile, Leeds United manager Thomas Christiansen has already significantly strengthened his squad with a number of additions already this summer, but he may not be finished in the transfer market just yet as he looks to lead the Yorkshire outfit back to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
Here are three reasons Leeds should hijack Sunderland’s bid to sign Leadbitter…
Quality
The midfielder certainly showed how good he can be at this level when he was an influential performer in Middlesbrough’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2015/16 campaign.
Making 40 Championship appearances, Leadbitter showed his attacking abilities by scoring four goals and picking up three assists from the 59 chances he created, while he showed how comfortable he is in possession by successfully completing 12 of the 18 take-ons he attempted.
However, the 31-year-old is also effective defensively too and he won 56 tackles as well as making 68 interceptions and 37 clearances.
While he found first team football harder to come by in the top flight last season – mainly because he had a hernia at the beginning of the campaign – the midfielder can certainly still be a hit at this level.
Experience
As we mentioned previously, Leadbitter captained Middlesbrough to promotion from this division just two seasons ago and that experience and knowledge could prove to be vital if the 31-year-old moved to Elland Road – even on a short-term deal.
While Leeds have some great young players like Kalvin Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira in the middle of the park – Christiansen may feel that he needs a more experienced head in what is a vital part of the pitch alongside the more senior pros like Liam Bridcutt, Eunan O’Kane and Mateusz Klich.
Having spent seven of the last eight seasons of his career in the Championship, Leadbitter could prove to be an influential figure on and off the pitch.
Leadership
Having captained Middlesbrough in the Championship as well as when he started in the Premier League last season, Leadbitter has those leadership skills that can prove to be so important over the course of the 46-game campaign.
That is one of the reasons Steve Bruce would have chosen to sign John Terry this summer, while Leeds have strong characters like Pontus Jansson and Liam Bridcutt in the side already, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add another to try and help them finish in the top six and finally try and secure that long-awaited Premier League return.
Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.