OPINION
Leeds have made some odd signings since they were relegated from the Premier League.
Yosuke Ideguchi and Ouasim Bouy spring to mind in modern times, but the curious case of Amadou Haidara makes them seem normal in comparison.
Haidara apparently signed for Leeds on deadline day in the summer of 2016. We say apparently as no one seemed to know about it, not even the ITK journalists at the Yorkshire Evening Post.
One eagle-eyed fan spotted him playing for the Under-23s in September 2016 and wondered who the hell he was.
And the ensuing conversation with Phil Hay was illuminating.
Hay said that he’d heard from his colleague [Lee Sobot] that the signing was a hoax but that it clearly wasn’t.
He also said he had no idea if he’d joined as a free agent as no one would tell him anything about him.
Amadou Haidara – defender once of Nantes, as opposed to the midfielder of same name who plays in Austria.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 26, 2016
he claimed to have signed on deadline day. I was off that week but amid much confusion, it appears that he did join
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 26, 2016
I'd guess free agent but no-one will say anything about him
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 26, 2016
don't know. It's rather odd. The message Lee got around deadline day was that the signing was a hoax, but clearly not
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 26, 2016
There’s a fantastic rumour going around that Leeds signed the wrong player, thinking that they were getting the Amadou Haidara who is currently tearing up the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg.
We’d love to believe that but it can’t be true, can it?
The Haidara that Leeds signed was a long way off the Austrian Bundesliga. As it turned out he was a long way off the Leeds Under-23s and he quickly disappeared from view before getting released this year at the age of 24 without making a senior appearance.
The Haidara deal might not be on the level of the infamous Ali Dia, who Graeme Souness signed at Southampton after a recommendation from someone pretending to be George Weah, but it’s a very bizarre transfer that’s never been properly explained.