The latest name to be linked with a move to Championship side Leeds United is Milos Veljkovic, the young Serbian who plays his club football for Tottenham.
The 19-year-old is primarily a defensive midfielder, but can also play as a centre-back, providing Leeds with extra cover for Bamba and Bellusci. He has made 40 appearances for Tottenham’s under-21’s, scoring one and assisting four. He has also made three appearances for Spurs’ first team, including an appearance in the Europa League.
He is also capped as an international player, representing Serbia at every level from under-17 to under-21. Veljkovic joined Middlesbrough on-loan in October 2014 where he made 4 appearances. The defender also has other experience of Championship football, joining Charlton on-loan in January of last season, there he made three appearances.
With Leeds looking to add two more faces to the playing squad before the end of the transfer window, it appears to be Veljkovic who will be next through the door and Rosler’s eighth signing of the summer. A season-long loan that will give the player first-team experience and provide Leeds with the depth they desperately need in the current squad.
Tottenham blogger Chris Miller provides analysis on Spurs’ youth teams and reports on the stand-out stars from their squads. Writing for the Tottenham & Wood Green Journal in April 2014, Miller believes that Veljkovic “is a progressive player who is equally capable of carrying the ball out of defence, or play-making from deep midfield. His head is always up, he wants the ball to go through him, and he wants to create triangles and move it on quickly and simply, using either foot – but mostly his right.
Alongside this, he boasts a sturdy enough frame to allow him to cope with the physical rigours of the Premier League and give himself sufficient time on the ball.”
A more recent update on Veljkovic can be found on Chris Miller’s blog ‘WindyCOYS’, in his match report following a Tottenham XI beating Stevenage 2-0 last week, he gave the 19-year-old a 9 out of 10 rating for his performance.
Miller wrote “Veljkovic 9 – wonderfully composed on the ball with a very useful range of passing; solid in the tackle; intelligent reading of the game. What’s not to like? I am slightly baffled as to why Pochettino doesn’t love him as much as I do, and I can only think that it’s because he doesn’t play with the high intensity that Pochettino demands. I’ve heard murmurings of a Championship loan – he’s better than that at this point and – in my opinion – should be getting outings for us in the Europa League and League Cup.”
Veljkovic sounds an exciting prospect in the reports previously written regarding his performances, his Europa League appearance suggests that he is a player with talent, despite his young age. It’ll be interesting to see if Leeds can seal the deal.
