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Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images

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Izzy Brown can be a ready-made Samu Saiz replacement at Leeds United

Jay Williams
Jay Williams

Samu Saiz missed Leeds United’s previous Championship game against Bolton Wanderers because he is unsettled.

 that Saiz was absent because he is finalising a loan move to Getafe, ahead of a permanent move to the La Liga side in the summer.

This comes as a major blow for the Whites, who have grown fond of the Spanish playmaker.

But he has not been at his best this season and he is not irreplaceable.

In fact, Leeds may well have a ready-made replacement on their books already.

Rather than dipping into the transfer market, the return of Izzy Brown could feel like a new signing.

Brighton’s English midfielder Izzy Brown (L) crosses the ball as Stoke City’s Dutch defender Erik Pieters (R) tries to block during the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Stoke City at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on November 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Glyn KIRK / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Leeds signed Brown on loan from Chelsea in the summer but he has been injured all season.

The 21-year-old is nearing his comeback and if he can find his feet in the second tier, he could easily be Saiz’s successor at Elland Road.

In his previous loan spells in the Championship, Brown has racked up three goals and five assists for struggling Rotherham United and four goals to help Huddersfield Town to promotion.

After an injury-ravaged campaign at Brighton last season, the England youth international is back in the Championship determined to get his career back on track.

And Brown could be the man to fill Saiz’s void and guide Leeds back to the Premier League.