Phil Hay has delivered his verdict on a report from the Sun that claims Leeds have tabled a £10m bid for Swansea winger Daniel James, saying that it’s “not clickbait”.
The report claims the Leeds bid would consist of £6million bid up front with £4million of incentives.
One cautious Leeds fans labelled it as “clickbait” and said that fans shouldn’t listen to anything unless it comes from Phil Hay or BBC Leeds journalist Adam Pope.
Well they didn’t have to wait long. Hay responded almost immediately, saying the report was “not clickbait”.
He said that people involved in the deal are “very confident” it will happen. He said it’s not a dead cert but that there was a very good chance of it coming off.
Hay also re-iterated that Leeds would not be paying £10million up front, saying it would be “nothing like it” but were looking to structure a deal that worked for both sides.
they're not going to pay £10m up front, nothing like it. Swansea want a bid fee but Leeds want to structure a deal with add-ons and incentives.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) January 28, 2019
not clickbait. People involved in this sounding very confident pf making it happen. Not to say it's a dead cert but a very good chance.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) January 28, 2019
OPINION
The Sun might have its detractors and it might print a lot of stuff that doesn’t come off, but Alan Nixon is ultra-reliable. This is his story and the reliable Phil Hay has given it his seal of approval on his Twitter page. The deal would seem to make a lot of sense. James is a winger with lots of potential and if he helps Leeds into the Premier League and goes on to fulfil his potential, then paying the extra money will be worth it. £6million up front is a lot of money though. Hay didn’t confirm this part of the deal, but just said it would be nothing like £10million. We can see the up front part being less and the structure of the deal weighing heavily on how James does in the future. It’s going to be a deal that goes all the way to the deadline by the looks of it, but if you’re a Leeds fan then you’ve got be a very hopeful now.