Will Leeds be signing a Premier League defender…or not?

Windows possess a certain translucency making them clear and allowing you to see straight through them. The transfer window is not like that in football; rather it is more opaque than transparent. What should be clear is clouded, what should be obvious becomes unclear, truth is smoke and mirrors and hidden by rumour.

Basically, nothing is clear and fans hang on every rumour like a drowning man clutching at ever-smaller pieces of floating wreckage.

Bit like Liam Moore coming to Leeds United on loan really.

Now I am not saying that it won’t happen; it very likely could and it would be a great bit of business for the club, a further stake of Leeds United’s ambition. Thing is, I’d like to look at another prospect, why would they? Why would Leeds United want to loan Liam Moore?

The two central defensive positions were narrowed to one with Leeds’ permanent capture of Palermo’s Sol Bamba, a player who played himself into a transfer to Elland Road with some standout performances in a 19-game loan streak during the the 2015 portion of the 2014/15 Championship season. Basically, it is safe to say that he’s got one of those two central positions pretty much nailed down.

Then there is the other place, the one as Bamba’s defensive partner. You have to bring into the equation a couple of things, players on the books and how warm the bench is. Firstly, Leeds have two players, in Giuseppe Bellusci and Liam Cooper; both bought only at the start of last season. After Jason Pearce was allowed to sign for Wigan Athletic, Cooper, a pre-season capture from Chesterfield, was made club captain and put in some solid defensive performances alongside Sol Bamba. Then there’s Italian Bellusci, a permanent capture from Italian side Calcio Catania, a player who Leeds actively pursued and saw as a future, integral feature of the team.

Secondly, not only does having those two cloud matters somewhat, then there’s the other option, a warm bench. I say that because, if Liam Moore signs, will both of those two be comfortable stepping back and taking a seat on the Leeds United bench? From first team regular to first team backup in an off-season? Likely not, likely not indeed. This then opens up a further option, selling players to alleviate having disgruntled players as backups. Would Leeds be prepared to do this though, sell either Cooper or Bellusci when, it is likely, that the signing of Liam Moore would be on a loan-to-buy option; this being Massimo Cellino’s favoured method of business.

Now I am sure that all this will jump up and leave a huge set of teethmarks on my backside and that Liam Moore will waltz into Thorp Arch. Alternatively, Leeds might decided that the cheaper option is to rely on one of the two out of Cooper and Bellusci and sell the other with the ‘unlucky’ player having to drop to the bench and play second fiddle to highly-rated youngster in Liam Moore.

Like I said – smoke and mirrors, rumour gives way to truth. After all, it is Leeds United after all.

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