Leeds narrowly missed out on signing Championship high-flyer Harvey Barnes last summer.
Barnes moved on loan from Leicester to West Brom in the end, and he’s been making waves with the Baggies.
The midfielder has been prolific so far, scoring five goals in 12 league games, including two in his last two, as West Brom currently sit second in the Championship table, one point ahead of Leeds.
But Barnes was very close to being a Leeds player according to Leeds journalist Phil Hay, who was talking on the Inside Elland Road podcast.
Asked which player he would most like Leeds to sign from a current Championship club, Hay replied, “Easy, Harvey Barnes for me. It wasn’t much publicised over the summer but at one point Leeds were very close to doing that but he preferred the option of staying close to home.
“That basically very nearly happened.”
Podcast co-host Joe Urquhart added, “He’d basically picked a squad number hadn’t he?”
“Yes,” replied Hay. “Essentially he was at Thorp Arch and ready to go… He was on his way for a medical.”
OPINION
This is definitely a case of the one that got away. Barnes has been a revelation for West Brom and a big part of the reason why they’re currently second and looking good for automatic promotion this season. He’s scored five goals and added two assists in 12 Championship games and has cemented his place in Darren Moore’s side after becoming a firm fan favourite. Barnes would have been a brilliant signing for Leeds and it will be agonising for Leeds fans to discover just how close they came to signing him. With a squad number picked and at Thorp Arch for a medical, it sounds like Barnes had last-minute wobbles and decided that he wanted to go to a club that was closer to his home in the midlands. Leeds’ loss ended up being West Brom’s gain and Barnes could play a big part in the automatic promotion spots this season.