In a recent discussion on The Athletic, Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay discussed the club’s link with AZ Alkmaar’s defensive midfielder Teun Koopmeiners.
A recent report by The Telegraph claimed that United boss, Marcelo Bielsa, is ‘keen to strengthen’ the club’s central midfield department prior to the closure of the summer transfer window, after losing Pablo Hernandez to injury in the warm-up to the club’s fixture with Fulham.
The Telegraph report continued by stating that AZ Alkmaar captain, Koopmeiners, is the player Bielsa is ‘looking to sign’ in order to bolster his options in the position, however, when asked whether or not he believed the club would make a move for the 22-year-old in a discussion on The Athletic, Hay appeared less than convinced about Bielsa’s reported interest.
He said: ‘Apparently not. I’ve seen him linked but the message from Leeds is that they won’t be signing him’ (Live blog, 07:22, 27/09/20).
TIF Thoughts…
While the journalist seems pretty sure that the club will not be making a move for Koopmeiners in the current window, after looking at his statistics, it is hard to argue against the idea that he would have been a great addition to Bielsa’s squad.
Over his 25 Eredivisie fixtures last season, the £13.05 million-rated 22-year-old scored 11 goals and provided two assists, averaging a highly-impressive WhoScored average rating of 7.43.
It would appear that, once again this term, the Netherlands U21 international has picked up where he left off last season, scoring one goal over his two Eredivisie appearances thus far, averaging a WhoScored average rating of 7.33.
Would you have liked to see Leeds make a move for Teun Koopmeiners?
Yes
No
As such, while Hay has all but confirmed that the club will not be making a move for Koopmeiners right now, he would certainly appear to be a player to keep a very close eye on over the coming season.