Take-over talks have seemingly been ongoing for far too long; the last we heard was the beginning of the due diligence process. Neil Warnock confirmed this morning that the buyers are "real people going about it the right way". Thank god they're real people. Yes, they may actually exist.
Pre-season gives some new faces a chance to introduce themselves in a competitive fixture, with most supporters eyes focusing on how signings Jason Pearce, Paul Green, Adam Drury and Paddy Kenny will fit into the team. Four signings that breed solidarity rather than pure quality and hopefully just a start to the influx of players that is required.
Yesterday Andy Lonergan became the second face to exit for an undisclosed fee to fellow promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers. Opinion is divided on this piece of activity; some favour him as an extremely capable under-study to the experienced Kenny, whereas others see him as over-rated and inconsistent. I found him to be consistently average; perfectly capable of the odd outstanding game, with a few errors here and there. He was a solid season-long servant, but to cash in on a back-up player and re-invest in other key areas of the squad can only be a good thing.
Adam Clayton has also moved on to new things with local rivals Huddersfield Town, joining up with former manager Simon Grayson. His talent and potential are undoubted, but his ability to go missing in a game is up there with his natural footballing ability. He also wasn't consistent enough; something which is key for success in a division which can be so close for so long.
Rumour is never a good thing, especially when Leeds United are involved. Especially when it involves the departures of key figures such as Robert Snodgrass and Ross McCormack. Especially when the names linked with a move to the club involve the likes of Luke Varney. But for once, lets be optimistic.
Snodgrass and McCormack haven't gone yet; the latter seeming like the most likely to leave first. Warnock today labelled Norwich's bid for Snodgrass as "not enough", reinforcing that times have changed; we aren't accepting loose change for our best players as was the case in the Bates era. With a bit of luck, both these players may re-sign...for the club to be ambitious, we need ambition from the likes of Snodgrass to have the nerve to sign a contract.
Besides Varney, names linked with a switch to Elland Road include Leicester's Lee Peltier and Rodolph Austin of SK Brann. Both in my eyes would be worth-while signings, particularly in the case of Austin as a dogged central midfielder is a position that has been missing since the years of Olivier Dacourt. The newspaper estimations of the cost of these players totals at just over £1,000,000, giving further backing to the idea that maybe, just maybe, a take-over is near completion.
I personally can't wait. I don't even care who plays. Friday marks the start of the long-awaited return of football and with a month and a half to go until the window shuts, who we have or don't have at the moment is irrelevant. Whether Paddy Kenny saves a penalty against Farsley or Paul Green scores the winner against Tavistock, Leeds United are back. We have a week of excitement to witness our old favourites and new heroes. After that, the hard-work must begin again; more signings are still required.
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