Leeds United plan talks with Everton about signing Matthew Pennington permanently in the summer, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The newspaper claim that Leeds are keen to sign the defender, 23, in a fixed arrangement after he impressed manager Thomas Christiansen in the first half of his season-long loan.
The regional newspaper report that Leeds are convinced that landing Pennington permanently would be a “shrewd move” and will make contact with Everton at the end of the campaign.
It is said that much will depend on the player and the stance of Goodison Park manager Sam Allardyce, who has made regular use of Mason Holgate, a centre-back two years younger.
Pennington has played 12 times so far for Leeds, and played two-thirds of the weekend 4-3 defeat at Millwall following the first-half dismissal of Liam Cooper.
Good move for Leeds?
Pennington has made a decent but far from amazing impression since joining Leeds on loan. He missed most of the opening two months due to ankle injury and then had some mixed performances in the centre of defence before Christiansen settled upon Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper as his preferred central defensive partnership. Nevertheless, the Everton academy product has shown some encouraging signs and it did not go unnoticed that he looked the most comfortable of the four defenders – Pontus Jansson and Gaetano Berardi were the others – used in central position in the chaotic clash against Millwall. Perhaps most crucially of all, his attitude has impressed Christiansen, who regards him as a player who has got what it takes to succeed at Leeds.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
If Pennington gets the impression that he remains well down the pecking order at his parent club in the summer, expect him to push for an exit. The emergence of Jonjoe Kenny and Mason Holgate in the Everton side this season, as well as the signings of Ashley Williams and Michael Keane in the last two summers, appears to have blocked his path. With the 23-year-old contract due to expire in the summer of 2019, the Premier League big guns are likely to be keen to negotiate a sale. Given Leeds know and like Pennington, and will be in the market for a new centre-back, this deal is a real possibility.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10