Phil Hay, speaking on the latest episode of The Phil Hay Show, has revealed that Leeds United had the chance to extend Kemar Roofe’s contract before he received an offer from Anderlecht.
The Athletic reporter discussed various topics, and when asked about Victor Orta’s role in the Jean-Kevin Augustin transfer Hay started discussing Roofe and where the club went wrong with him.
Here is what he had to say about Roofe:
“It [would] certainly be fair to say that by the summer, and by the point Anderlecht were coming for Roofe, there was no chance of Leeds matching the contract that they were offering, it was way above a standard Championship wage.
“It was a very, very good offer that Roofe was minded to take and it’s been a good move for him to Belgium.
“But if you go back a little earlier in the timeline with Roofe, there were definite opportunities to extend his contract, and there were definite points, I think, to make that happen.”
It seems as if Hay felt that Leeds had chances to extend Roofe’s deal, but they didn’t, and they lost him and have relied on Patrick Bamford as their main striker.
Have Leeds missed Roofe?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Roofe was brilliant for the Whites last season as he scored 14 goals in the league and one in the play-off semi-final first-leg against Derby County.
However, he was sold to Anderlecht, and Eddie Nketiah was brought in on loan as his replacement – only for Arsenal recalled him in January, and the Whites signed Augustin.
The Frenchman only made three appearances for Leeds – so letting Roofe go does look like a bad move.
Bamford is the Whites’ top goalscorer with 14, and the next closest are Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison on six, so Leeds have struggled to replace Roofe’s goals – and you can see why Hay feels there was a missed opportunity with the former Oxford United man.