Leeds United are suspected of spying on Derby County at their training ground ahead of their Championship clash on Friday night, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper report police had to escort a man with binoculars, pliers and a change of clothes from the Derby training ground on Thursday.
The Telegraph report Derby manager Frank Lampard is extremely concerned by the breach amid “suspicions the man was intending to pass information on to Leeds”. It is added that “efforts are being made to establish whether or not he was working for the Championship leaders”.
OPINION
Derby police tweeted yesterday their success in escorting a man from the premises at the training ground of the division’s sixth-placed club in what was almost a light-hearted revelation. Lampard and his staff are said to be taking a far dimmer view of the events as they make final preparations for the live TV clash between two promotion rivals. Who can blame them? Training ground moves, selection and tactics are treated with military secrecy by clubs ahead of fixtures, and that is their right given the pressures of elite football with so much at stake. While there is no proof of Leeds involvement, and don’t expect the league leaders to be particularly forthcoming on this subject, it does look incredibly suspicious that an uninvited individual was taking such care to check out Derby’s final training session before the match. Expect some strong words from Lampard on the subject, especially if his team crash to defeat on Friday night.