Samuel Saiz is already in Spain as he looks to finalise a loan-to-buy transfer from Leeds United to Getafe, according to a reliable journalist.
BBC Radio Leeds correspondent Adam Pope reported on his personal Twitter account on Friday afternoon that the playmaker, 27, has jetted back to his homeland to put the finishing touches to a move to the La Liga club.
Pope explained in an exchange with a Leeds supporter on social media that he is hearing from the “Getafe end” that Saiz is set to join on an initial six-month loan with a view to a permanent transfer at the end of the season.
Hearing he is already in Spain. From the Getafe end it’s pending a 6 month loan with view to permanent . #lufc
— Adam Pope (@apopey) December 14, 2018
OPINION
You don’t have to be a member of the Leeds or Getafe inner sanctum to ascertain that this is all but a done deal. When BBC journalists start sharing final details on a transfer, you can be sure the contracts are being drafted and the lawyers are working their way through the small print. Pope’s Twitter revelation that Saiz has already arrived in Spain is a huge update, and makes it clear that he has been given the green light by Leeds to finalise a transfer to La Liga’s eighth-placed club. The playmaker would not be back in his homeland without the authorisation of his employers. Things are moving quickly, and it appears Leeds are willing for them to do so. While Marcelo Bielsa’s sanguine-ness over transfers is taking on shoulder-shrugging legend, it is hard to see from this distance how United’s promotion hopes can be improved by offloading one of their most gifted players on loan for the second half of the season.