Championship &#8211; CaughtOffside

Real Madrid set sights on galactico signing with two names in mind

Ex Chelsea player calls summer signing “the real deal”

Leeds are chasing promotion back to the Premier League this season and some smart recruitment in January could undoubtedly help their cause a great deal.

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Spain playmaker confirms he is waiting for Leeds United transfer

Mark Brus — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 10:36:04 +0000

Leeds United’s loaned-out midfielder Marc Roca has spoken out on his future, saying he hopes to make his transfer to Real Betis permanent.

The 26-year-old joined Leeds from Bayern Munich in 2022, but it’s fair to say he never really produced his best form for the Yorkshire outfit, who ended last season being relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.

This saw Roca move on loan to Betis, and he’s now unsurprisingly keen to make that move a permanent one.

Discussing the latest on his situation, he said: “It is true that we are in contact with the club. Let’s see how everything evolves. It is also my representative’s job to reach an agreement… Then Betis has to talk to Leeds. I am very comfortable here.”

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Real Madrid set sights on galactico signing with two names in mind

Ex Chelsea player calls summer signing “the real deal”

He added: “It’s not easy to sign here and that’s it. There are many contracts, interests of each club, each one tries to get the most out of it… I’m waiting, watching from the outside. I don’t want to get involved either.

“My job is to train hard, try to contribute when it’s my turn to play and that’s what I dedicate myself to. With the trust I have with my agent, I let him do his job.”

Leeds fans will be disappointed this didn’t work out, but it’s now surely time for all parties to move on, with there being little point in keeping an unhappy player.

It also seems that things have worked out well for the Spaniard with Betis, so one imagines the La Liga outfit would also be happy to keep him at the club on a more long-term basis.

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Leeds turn down multiple offers for midfielder

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 20:01:56 +0000

The strength of Leeds United as a club at present can perhaps be seen by the news that they turned down multiple bids for one of their midfielders this past summer.

Considering how many players they let go as well as how many were kept and brought in, that speaks volumes for the regard in which they hold the player concerned.

Daniel Farke knows exactly what it takes to get a team up from the Championship to the Premier League and surely would have done his homework on the squad prior to taking over and in the first few weeks he had in the job.

He likely will have identified the various skill sets, and which players he could rely on to get them into a position whereby they would peak at just the right time.

What’s odd then, is that he hasn’t given Lewis Bate a chance so far in 2023/24.

The 21-year-old is apparently “desperate” to play for the club according to Football League World sources, however, Farke has shown no interest to this point.

It does beg the question why the club turned down so many offers for him in the summer window (h/t Football League World), if they didn’t intend to use him.

Clearly, not playing doesn’t do anyone any favours, and the sooner the situation is resolved, the better for all concerned.

That may come as early as January as Leeds could use the window to loan him out for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.

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Transfer news: How Real Madrid beat Chelsea to Endrick, surprise Arsenal exit & more – exclusive

Fabrizio Romano — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service at thedailybriefing.io

Why Real Madrid beat Chelsea and PSG to Endrick

Endrick has been in the headlines for earning his first senior Brazilian national team call-up and we also know that he’s going to be joining Real Madrid in July 2024, so at the end of this current season.

This super talented young striker has become the fourth youngest player ever to play for the Brazilian national team, so Real Madrid will no doubt feel they’ve landed a real gem here, but it’s important to remember that other clubs also really wanted him.

It was back in November when Paris Saint-Germain presented a huge proposal to sign two players from Palmeiras. The bid was €93m for the two boys Endrick and Estevao – two kids, really, but two big talents. It was an important proposal, with the main part of the offer being around €58m for Endrick, and the rest for Estevao.

Endrick only wanted to go to Real Madrid, while Estevao is another top talent that Palmeiras will probably sell later, so a deal with PSG didn’t work out. There were other possibilities as well, however, as Chelsea, around one year ago, also tried to sign Endrick. People at the club were monitoring Endrick and they tried to approach the player’s side to convince him to join, even inviting his family to London to have the opportunity to get a feel for Chelsea’s project.

Still, Endrick’s dream was to play for Real Madrid, and the player’s wish is crucial in these situations – club preference always makes the difference. It was not about Chelsea, PSG or money – he simply wanted to go to Real Madrid and it was his only priority. Also, Real Madrid’s chief scout Juni Calafat’s work was crucial to make the deal happen in a key moment, and it’s fantastic news for the Spanish giants because they can see him now making history with the Brazilian national team.

How close was Warren Zaire-Emery to Manchester City?

Another teenage talent who is making history is Paris Saint-Germain and France midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery. The 17-year-old scored on his debut for the French national team in that incredible 14-0 win against Gibraltar. Born in 2006, he’s the youngest player in Les Bleus’ history, breaking the record of Eduardo Camavinga.

Many of you have been asking me if there was really an opportunity for him to go to the Premier League. We know there have been links, but the reality is that Manchester City never made an official bid to Paris Saint-Germain – this was because they knew that he was considered untouchable for the club, and he is going to extend his contract with PSG very soon.

Another important detail is that Paris Saint-Germain wanted Bernardo Silva, and this is what led to rumours of a swap deal, but, again, they were never prepared to include Zaire-Emery in the negotiation. It was also a ‘no’ from Manchester City as they didn’t want to let Bernardo Silva go, and so the position of both clubs meant it could never go anywhere serious or concrete.

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Real Madrid set sights on galactico signing with two names in mind

Ex Chelsea player calls summer signing “the real deal”

Updates on Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial

I recently revealed that Juventus asked for information on Jadon Sancho as they consider a loan move for January, but I’m afraid fans asking me for updates since then are going to be disappointed because I don’t have anything just yet.

I don’t expect much to change very soon either because the key point with United right now is there will likely be changes to the board under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, so it will take some time to decide what to do. Juve are still there, though, waiting to understand the conditions of a potential January deal.

Anthony Martial is another player fans have been keen to understand more about ahead of January, and from what I’m told he remains part of the rotation under Erik ten Hag, he’s not out of the project. Martial, like some other player at United, remains on the same list: if they receive an important proposal, he could leave. Otherwise, they’re happy to keep him as part of rotations.

In other news…

Fabio Vieira – Marseille have been linked with an interest in signing Fabio Vieira on loan, but it’s too early to say on this one. Arsenal have not decided anything yet on players to leave in January and also OM have still no director; it will be Mehdi Benatia, who is set to be announced this week, but it’s still early to negotiate for players.

Wilfried Gnonto – His departure from Leeds could be a possibility this January. He could leave but depends on the proposal and also negotiating with Leeds is never easy. Despite rumours, I have no confirmation of Tottenham links at this stage.

Malamine Efekele – I’ve had some fans ask me about Monaco wonderkid Malamine Efekele and links with Chelsea. He’s a very good and interesting talent, but I’m not aware of any concrete talk or link, at this stage. It’s just normal scouting activity by many top clubs, something very normal for talents like Efekele.

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30-year-old claims he regrets leaving Leeds

Connor Holden — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 18:18:22 +0000

Leeds defender Sam Byram has said he “regrets” leaving Leeds in 2016, stating he would’ve stayed if he knew they would eventually gain promotion.

Byram told The Athletic, that in hindsight, he would never have left Leeds. He said his decision was based on “the facts” as you can’t predict the future, and had he have known Leeds would be promoted eventually (in 2020), he probably would’ve stayed.

In his interview he spoke on the fact he missed getting promoted with Leeds (in 2020), but this feels like “a second chance to achieve that”.

More Stories / Latest News

Real Madrid set sights on galactico signing with two names in mind

Ex Chelsea player calls summer signing “the real deal”