Graham Potter has joked about Leeds United’s transfer budget being swollen by the ‘Spygate’ controversy amid rampant speculation a bid is imminent for Daniel James.
The Yorkshire Evening Post claim United are yet to make a concrete bid for James but “have been in contact with Swansea and are looking for discussions over a fee”.
TeamTalk have reported that Leeds’ opening offer for the Wales international, 21, will be around £2.5million but their Championship rivals are holding out for £5million.
Potter admitted he was in the dark about Leeds’ intentions as he told a media briefing on Thursday, as quoted by the YEP: “I haven’t heard anything so I don’t know. Maybe Leeds have saved themselves some money, trimming the spy budget.
“It just emerges from somewhere and then we have to speak about it. That’s no criticism of Leeds because they have not mentioned anything.”
OPINION
It’s hard to believe that Potter is as in the dark over James’ situation and Leeds’ interest as he suggests. The Swans manager will know he needs to trim the wage bill and offload players, and that United’s strong interest in their Welsh winger makes his exit before next Thursday’s transfer deadline a very real possibility. Given that discussions are taking place behind the scenes and Swansea are expecting a significant offer of seven figures, Potter has to tread a delicate line between not giving too much away to the media while reassuring fans and keeping the player on board in case negotiations hit a stumbling block and he ends up staying. In such situations, managers resort to saying as little as possible, and moaning about having to even address the issue. They look to move on and change the subject. That doesn’t change the fact that plenty will be happening behind the scenes as far as this transfer is concerned.