Noel Whelan has said that Leeds United would be better off selling striker Jay-Roy Grot this summer.
The 21-year-old has recently returned to Elland Road following a season-long loan spell in the Erividisie, where he scored six goals and assisted three others for VVV-Venlo in the Dutch first division.
The Netherlands Under-21 international will reportedly be given this summer’s pre-season to prove his worth to Marcelo Bielsa [Football Insider], but speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Whelan urged Leeds not to bother and instead cash in on Grot.
“From what I’ve seen he’s not the quality that Leeds United need,” Whelan said. “He doesn’t have that quality for Championship football, he doesn’t have the quality that’s going to make the difference next season.
“If he does come and prove me wrong, I hope he does, but from what I’ve seen, he’s not your answer to that centre forward position unfortunately. I think he’s been a bad signing.
“Is he going to start? Absolutely not. Does he have the quality in my eyes? No. I think he’d be better off unloaded, get the money, pocket the cash, spend it elsewhere or put the money towards something that is going to be a difference.”
OPINION
Whelan is bang on with these comments, Grot would not be an ideal man to have around at Leeds next season. The 21-year-old made the aforementioned nine goal contributions in 33 league appearances, which show that while he had plenty of opportunities to prove himself last term, he failed to do so on many an occasion. And next season, Leeds simply cannot afford to have players around that are not going to pull their weight in the fight to gain promotion to the Premier League. They need a striker with real quality, someone that is going to bang in 25 goals – or a number just below or even above that figure – and Grot simply isn’t the man to provide this. As Whelan says, the Whites would be much better off selling and using whatever they get for him – which, admittedly won’t be much – to fund a move for a better striker this summer.