Leeds United journalist Beren Cross has provided his views on the future of defender Gjanni Alioski.
The 29-year-old is officially out of contract at Elland Road as of 30th June, bringing his time at the club to an end after 171 appearances, during which time he has scored 22 goals and chipped in with 19 assists.
And whilst Leeds United have offered him a new contract, reports are claiming that clubs in Turkey are showing an interest in him, meaning that his future at the club is anyone’s guess as the deadline passes.
And speaking during a live video for Leeds Live, Cross discussed the situation, and seemed to hint that Leeds United could find themselves facing uncertainty if a deal couldn’t be agreed quickly, and that it could impact Alioski as well:
“We’re going to have to wait and see what he wants to do. Clearly, he’s got other interested clubs, we know that he’s still open to returning to Leeds, we know that Leeds’ offer is still on the table for him.
“But they can’t wait around forever and as we know with Bielsa, the more you get in the pre-season, the better that you’re going to be in the following campaign.
“I think given that North Macedonia did go out in the group stages, I think he probably would still get maybe a couple of weeks… before having to report back. I mean, it’s gonna be strange, but by Thursday, he’s officially not going to be a Leeds United player anymore.”
TIF Thoughts on Beren Cross’ comments about Gjanni Alioski…
Are you confident Alioski will sign a new deal at Leeds?
Yes
No
At the end of the day, the matter is out of Leeds United’s hands. They have offered Alioski a contract, and it’s up to him to decide whether or not he wants to sign it. The most that they can do is urge him to sign it as quickly as possible, but even then, that might not have much of an effect if he is considering options from elsewhere.
They do have plans in place to bring in another left-back, with reports linking them to Barcelona defender Junior Firpo, but whether or not he will have to compete with Alioski for a place in the starting eleven, or even sign for Leeds United at all, could be resting on what decision Alioski makes.
Hopefully for Leeds, that decision will be made soon, because the longer they are left waiting, the more uncertainty will start to creep into their plans as pre-season gets all the nearer.
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