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‘Getting paperwork together’… Phil Hay says Leeds were ready to sign 24-year-old before he got injured
Leeds United have left it late in the transfer window.
The Whites are still yet to sign anyone in the winter window despite some glaring gaps in their squad, but it hasn’t been for the lack of trying.
Indeed, the Whites have been linked with the likes of Neco Williams and Ben Johnson, while a deal for Daiki Hashioka was discussed last week.
According to Phil Hay, speaking on , Leeds were very tempted to sign Hashioka earlier in the window, going as far as to prepare paperwork for the deal, but after the player picked up an ankle injury, the Whites pulled the plug.
Leeds were ready to sign Hashioka
Hay spoke about the 24-year-old.
“It was a strange one that. I got in touch with someone who I was pretty sure would know, and he said he’s going to the Premier League and signing for Luton. That was gone before it materialised publicly, but the story they told me from the Leeds end was that they really liked him, they were very tempted to do it and starting getting paperwork together. He got an ankle injury in a game in Belgium and were worried about the risk of recurrence, the message was they needed players they could count on to come into the team immediately,” Hay said.
Smart
As counter-productive as it sounds, Leeds need to plan for the short-term rather than the long-term right now.
The next six months are all that’s important for Leeds as they push for promotion, and they need players who can perform during that time.
Unfortunately, Hashioka picked up an injury at the wrong time, and Leeds were right to not sign a player who they didn’t think they could rely on in the business end of this season.