Leeds United were reported by the Liverpool Echo to be interested in another loan deal for Premier League centre-back Matthew Pennington.
And now it looks like they’re set to get an answer imminently, according to the Sun’s transfer expert Alan Nixon.
He claimed on his personal Twitter account on Thursday morning that Leeds might “want/need Pennington on loan more than Wigan” and that Everton are going to make their decision very shortly.
Good move for Leeds?
If they can get him back on loan then it would be a good deal, despite fans’ opposition. Pennington might be getting unfairly tarred with last year’s poor display by Leeds and the team is in need of another centre-back. Pennington didn’t cover himself in glory last season but then neither did a lot of Leeds players, including the normally reliable Pontus Jansson. Pennington did enough in our eyes to warrant another chance at Elland Road and the fans seem to hate Liam Cooper even more. It might not be the most popular transfer this summer, especially after standout deals for the likes of Barry Douglas, but Everton saw enough in Pennington to give him a new deal, and we think he could be good under Marcelo Bielsa.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
The reported deal for Pennington came as a surprise to many Leeds fans, after he only started 15 Championship games for Leeds last season. That might count against him as Everton decide whether to send him back to Elland Road or not, although he did miss some games through injury. In fact, the injury he picked up in the very first game of last season seemed to set the tone for his move last year. We think there’s a decent chance he’ll come back but only because of Bielsa and promises might have to be made this time around.
This is Futbol rating: 510