The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent, Phil Hay, discussed several topics regarding the club ahead of the new Premier League season, including Leeds’ previous interest in Fulham left-back Joe Bryan.
Since moving to Fulham from Bristol City in what was a £6.03 million deal back in 2018, Bryan has gone on to make 78 appearances for the club, chipping in with four goals and providing nine assists along the way.
Last season, the defender played a pivotal role in ensuring that Scott Parker’s side gained promotion to the Premier League, scoring three goals and providing seven assists over his 46 Championship appearances, averaging a highly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.15/10.
Two of his three goals last term were arguably the two most important goals Fulham scored all season, as they both came during the Championship play-off final, in which the club defeated Brentford 2-1.
Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, it would seem that Bryan’s impressive performances from the 2019/20 campaign caught the eye of Marcelo Bielsa, as Hay recently stated that Leeds were interested in making a move for the £4.95 million-rated 26-year-old at the start of the summer transfer window.
He said: “Right at the start of the window, I heard talk at Leeds about Joe Bryan down at Fulham, but that really hasn’t progressed, and it does feel as if Bielsa is happy with the left-back options that he has at the moment, including [Barry] Douglas, although there does seem to be interest from Celtic up north, so I guess as the window goes on, these are deals to keep an eye on.”
Do you think that Joe Bryan would improve Leeds at left-back?
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TIF Thoughts…
From Hay’s comments, it would appear as if the journalist is indicating that should a move for Douglas to Celtic materialise, then the club could reignite their interest in Fulham’s Bryan.
However, at present, it would seem as if Douglas is indeed staying put, and so, as Hay says, we will be keeping an eye on the progression of these potential moves as the window goes on.