Leeds United left-back Laurens De Bock is set to train with Belgian club Oostende tomorrow (Wednesday), according to BBC Radio Yorkshire broadcaster Adam Pope.
The reliable journalist claimed on his personal Twitter account that De Bock, 25, will return to Belgium over the next 24 hours, just eight months after he was signed by Leeds from Club Brugge for £1.5million (Yorkshire Evening Post) in January.
I’m hearing De Bock due to train with Ostend tomorrow. #lufc
— Adam Pope (@apopey) August 21, 2018
This comes after Tomas Taecke, who works for Belgian newspaper HLN, reported that De Bock is heading to Oostende on a season-long loan deal.
BREAKING: Laurens De Bock keert terug naar België. Verdediger gaat op huurbasis aan de slag bij @kvoostende tot het einde van dit seizoen @hlnsport #LUFC @LUFC @ClubBrugge #clubbrugge
— Tomas Taecke (@tomaztaecke) August 21, 2018
Good move for Leeds?
De Bock is so far out of the picture at Elland Road that Marcelo Bielsa has to get rid of him in some capacity.
While sending him out on loan isn’t ideal as the Whites would no doubt rather recoup the money spent on him in January, it still ensures that his career does not stagnate and increases the chance of a permanent deal being struck next summer instead.
If De Bock impresses at Oostende, then it could be a win-win scenario for Leeds.
They will have got away with not paying some of his wages and could potentially boost his transfer value to higher than what it is right now.
This is Futbol rating 9/10
Likely to happen?
With multiple journalists now reporting that De Bock is on his way back to Belgium, it does seem as though this deal will be wrapped up fairly soon.
With the Belgian left-back set to train with his new club on Wednesday, there should be an official announcement made in due course.
This is Futbol rating 9.5/10