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Missing out on Gavin Whyte to Harry Kewell would be bitter pill for Leeds United to swallow
Leeds United will be looking to improve their squad this summer, with plenty of names already being linked with a move to Elland Road. One such player is Northern Irish winger Gavin Whyte.
The 22-year-old has had a fine season in the NIFL Premiership. The Crusaders star has scored 24 goals for the club in 43 games in all competitions – attracting the interest of Leeds with such impressive figures and displays and winning the league’s player of the season as Crues claimed the title.
reported Leeds United’s interest in signing him, even stating ‘a dream move to Leeds United is on the cards’ in their report.
It would be a fine move for the young attacker but it looks like Leeds might have a rival in the race to sign him.
Crawley Town are in the race for the player and have made a significant verbal offer. The Red Devils want to bring Whyte to England, with the hope he could help them push for promotion from League Two next season.
For Leeds fans, losing out on a player to Crawley might be the worst imaginable scenario. That is bound to the fact their manager is former Leeds winger Harry Kewell.
The Australian had a fine career at Leeds, spending eight years at Elland Road after heading to the UK from Sydney.
But, despite his past at Leeds, the 39-year-old is not a popular figure at the club.
Kewell left in a controversial transfer back in 2003, joining Liverpool. That could have been forgiven by the Leeds fans. But five years later, he made a move to Leeds’ bitter rivals Galatasaray.
In April 2000 two Leeds United fans were killed during clashes prior to a UEFA Cup match between Leeds and the Istanbul club. The way the Turkish club handled the incident has left Leeds fans with a long-standing dislike for the Turkish giants.
Leeds fans will never forgive Kewell for the move and the way in which he attempted to justify it. For them, his move was a slap in the face to the club which helped nurture his talents
Missing out on a transfer target is never going to be welcomed by Leeds. But doing so to Kewell would meet with an entirely different level of disapproval.