Breaking: Leeds united to bring scottish star player this summer

A trio of Championship sides are battling for the deal.

In 2021, Leeds snapped up 18-year-old defender Leo Hjelde from Scottish

Premiership giants Celtic for an undisclosed fee. Hjelde hadn’t made a

first-team appearance for the Hoops but the Whites’ scouts had been impressed

by how he’d performed during a loan spell at Ross County.

Hjelde’s time at Elland Road eventually came to an end when he made just eight

appearances in the first team in all competitions. During the transfer

window last month, he was eventually sold to Championship rivals Sunderland. Not to be discouraged,

Leeds is now pursuing a different young player who is making an impression during a loan spell north of the line.

The Daily Record claims that Leeds is interested in signing Kilmarnock’s

Bobby Wales. The 2023–24 season has seen Wales play for Alloa, a third-tier

team, and his accomplishments have “caught the eye” of English recruitment agencies.

It’s said that Leeds are one of a “string” of sides who have sent scouts to watch

the striker in action recently, with Stoke and promotion rivals Ipswich also named as admirers.

Wales has exploded in Alloa spell

Wales made 10 first-team appearances at Kilmarnock last season, all of them in

the Premiership. His debut came as a late substitute in a game against St

Johnstone in October, and he went on to earn seven more outings off the bench

either side of a couple of starts against Hearts and Motherwell in December. In

addition to becoming one of the 15 youngest players in the club’s history, he

was also one of the 10 youngest to feature in the Scottish top-flight in 2022/23.

This season, Kilmarnock decided to loan him out to ensure he could start senior

games more regularly, and he’s made himself a key player at Alloa with a

94.1% starting rate over the past 17 games. He’s scored seven goals so far, all

of them in a devastating hot streak over the past eight games. All of a sudden,

only five players are above him in the division’s scoring charts.

It’s still very early days for the 18-year-old, but he’s already developing into an

impressive athlete with a 6 foot 2 frame and, capped nine times by Scotland at

under-19 level, he’s won international recognition too. With his contract due to

expire in just over 12 months’ time, it’s no surprise that Daniel Farke and the

49ers are seemingly looking into the possibility of repeating the Hjelde transfer ahead of the summer window.