Leeds United journalist Conor McGilligan has tried to quieten speculation linking the club to Matheus Cunha.
A report last month claimed that Leeds had been showing an interest in the Brazilian forward for some time, and looked to be getting closer to making a deal official to bring him to Elland Road.
Should Leeds sign Cunha?
Yes
No
An article from Brazilian outlet UOL Esporte (via Sport Witness) claimed that a deal of between €25m and €30m (£21.5m and £26m) would be enough to get the deal done, but it appears as though that a deal isn’t going to happen at all, according to McGilligan.
Speaking during a Q&A on the Leeds Live Facebook page, he claimed that given the timescale it would take to complete the deal, complicated by his presence at the Olympic Games, that he didn’t see the deal happening this summer:
“I would say that that is not a starter. Obviously he’s part of the Brazilian Olympic setup, which sort of takes him out of pre-season, I think it takes them out of the start of the domestic season as well.
“And I don’t think Leeds are 100% keen on that one, which is one to definitely take note on.”
TIF Thoughts on Conor McGilligan’s comments about Matheus Cunha…
This is very much the smart approach for Leeds United to take if the timing of the deal is likely to cause some complications.
Given the type of training that Leeds United players have to go through to get used to Marcelo Bielsa’s style of play, then the longer the deal would have taken, the smaller the chance of him being ready to attack the new Premier League season.
Bielsa’s style of play is certainly not everyone is capable of, so if he wasn’t going to be able to take part in it properly because of his international commitments, then bringing in someone who would get a lot more time to adapt to it before the competitive games start would certainly be a more pragmatic approach.
In other news: ‘Here we goooo’, ‘I’m so excited’ – Lots of Leeds fans buzzing over update