Leeds United are reportedly close to completing the signing of Finnish centre-back Aapo Halme – and fans have delivered mixed verdicts on Twitter.
Yorkshire Evening Post correspondent Phil Hay reported on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday evening that reports in Finland linking the 19-year-old HJK Helsinki player to an imminent switch to Elland Road were “genuine”.
Hay explained that Leeds are targeting Halme with a view to slotting him into their Under-23s squad rather than the senior set-up.
Talk in Finland of Leeds United’s interest in 19-yr-old centre-back Aapo Halme is genuine. Finland youth international with HJK Helsinki. Would be a signing for the development squad. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) January 2, 2018
It comes after Finnish publication MTV Sport reported that Leeds have already reached an agreement to sign the 6ft 4in defender and are expected to announce the deal in the next few days.
It is said that Leeds will pay a “significant transfer fee” to bring the centre-back to Elland Road.
United supporters took to social media en masse on Tuesday to react to the increasingly likely possibility that the teenage centre-back will soon be unveiled as a Leeds player.
Some claimed that the giant Finn is “exactly what we need” and the club could have done brilliant transfer work in snapping up the next Sami Hyypia, in reference to the Liverpool great, while others were critical of recruiting a player for the development squad when the first team is in need of refurbishment ahead of the second half of the campaign.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
Exactly what we need.
— Elliott (@elliott_benn) January 2, 2018
Bit naughty of the club doing signings,or even contemplating them,without consulting the Twitter experts.
— Dave ???????????????? (@Dav_m160) January 2, 2018
Hello Phil, thanks for the update, but I’ve just had an original and groundbreaking thought that I think you’d like to hear: We should sign a left back.
Cheers
— Enzo Eamore (@EamoV1) January 2, 2018
Development squad needing players for their promotion push?
— Tom (@thomas_wilson04) January 2, 2018
No good unless the dev side can get promoted to the premier League
— John Rhodes (@rhodesygolf) January 2, 2018
in the play-off positions, ER full every game…sod the ‘future’ @andrearadri go buy 3 experience PL players now, improve the team & get promoted
— Phil Dodsworth (@yorxman) January 2, 2018
Should we not be trying to progress our own youth instead buying youth team players? We’ve constantly produced good players from our own youth system for decades, why change?
— Dan Middleton (@DanMidd84) January 2, 2018
Next Sami Hyypia?
— Liam Jenkins (@LiamJenkins85) January 2, 2018
All these players for the youth team and do they ever win a game lol it needs a rethink ha ha ha
— Adam Weston (@textmaniac78) January 2, 2018
Only way to improve as a player is to play with better players. Somehow I don’t think he’ll be getting that with our U23 squad.
— Titman (@scott72main) January 2, 2018
People moaning about this like it’s the only transfer. Jesus wept. It’s January 2nd people give your heads a shake.
— Jacob The Bear (@_JacobTheBear_) January 2, 2018