Leeds United’s pursuit of Norwich and Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty is a well-publicised one, with many articles reporting it. However, Canaries boss Alex Neil has nixed the possibility of a loan deal in an article by Eastern Daily Press (EDP).
Leeds United and Steve Evans were thought to have favoured a loan-to-buy option on Lafferty but were at loggerheads with Norwich who were thought to prefer a straight-forward and outright sale of the Northern Ireland frontman.
Neil, who has included Lafferty in his squad for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Mancester City, says that the striker will only “leave on Norwich’s terms.” The EDP say that Evans, who responded by saying a deal would not be forthcoming between the two sides, only responded so due to a direct conversation with Neil, who set the record straight with his Leeds United counterpart.
Neil is reported to have said of the situation, “The reasons Leeds are saying that is because that is exactly what I told Steve on Thursday when I spoke to him. We are not looking to loan Kyle out. If someone wants to come and get him then they need to buy him. That is basically where we are. We have Kyle on our books, he is part of our squad, he will be in the FA Cup squad and if Leeds want him they come and buy him, if they don’t want do that then it is done as far as I am concerned.”
With that in mind, it seems that Leeds United will be looking for Plan B in their hunt for a striker.
