Leeds United: More signings to come?
Leeds United executive Adam Pearson hinted that further signings were on the cards after the club sealed the capture of Stuart Dallas from Brentford and allowed Steve Morison to join Millwall on a busy day at Elland Road.
Pearson admitted last night that the club were open to the possibility of more deals before the end of the transfer window but said United and head coach Uwe Rosler were “very satisfied†after Dallas became their seventh summer signing. The 24-year-old winger put pen to paper on a three-year contract yesterday, joining Leeds from Brentford for a fee of around £1.3m.
In a separate development, United –who stand to receive around £500,000 via a sell-on clause following Max Gradel’s transfer from Saint Etienne to Bournemouth – reached an agreement to sever the final year of Morison’s contract, freeing the 31-year-old to take up a one-year deal at League One Millwall.
United said Millwall had paid an “undisclosed fee†to complete the signing but that money is understood to have been used to pay Morison off.
The striker was one of United’s highest earners with a deal worth close to £20,000 a week.
The rebuilding of Rosler’s squad is almost complete with a busy close-season almost at an end but asked if other incoming players might arrive before the FIFA deadline on September 1, Pearson told the YEP: “There’s possibly one more to come and maybe a loan deal as well, just to give us a bit of strength in the centre of midfield.â€
Leeds have lost midfielders Luke Murphy and Tommaso Bianchi to knee surgery in the past month but their recent search for new players has been largely fixed on candidates to fill the left wing.
Dallas has plugged that gap in Rosler’s team but Pearson suggested more cover would follow, saying: “We’re still looking. Whether that’s a wide player or not remains to be seen.â€
Dallas, who played 38 times in the Championship for Brentford last season, is in line to make his Leeds debut during Saturday’s Championship opener at home to Burnley.
The Northern Ireland international said: “Coming here is a fresh challenge. I can’t wait to get going.
“Leeds United is a massive club and the chance to play here was one I couldn’t turn down. I know a lot about the club. I think everybody knows a lot about Leeds United.
“We’ve got a young squad here – it’s a young, fit, hungry squad. Everything is looking good for the first game on Saturday.â€
Rosler’s preferred 4-3-3 formation was heavily dependent on the arrival of an out-and-out left winger and the United boss was pleased to land a player who he first signed while manager of Brentford in 2012.
“Finally we got our wide player,†Rosler said. “Stuart Dallas is a very exciting young player.
“Like the other signings we’ve made, he has his best years in front of him. He can play on the left and on the right. Leeds is a big challenge, to play at Elland Road in front of 30,000, but he’s a player who can wear that heavy shirt.â€
Pearson said: “We’re moving in the right direction and I think we’re all very satisfied with the business we’ve done, Uwe included.â€
Morison, meanwhile, took his leave of United yesterday afternoon after two-and-a-half difficult seasons with the club.
Leeds invested heavily in him when they signed him from Norwich City in 2013, a swap deal for Luciano Becchio and £200,000, but he rarely found his feet and spent the whole of the 2013-14 season on loan at Millwall.
He played 41 times for Leeds and scored five goals, including two in the final month of last season.
