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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to a report in The Daily Mail, Leeds United attacker Kemar Roofe is in talks with Anderlecht over a £7m move, and his departure would undo all of the hard work manager Marcelo Bielsa put in with him last season.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Daily Mail report that the 26-year-old, who only has a year left on his contract at Elland Road, is keen to link up with new Anderlecht manager Vincent Kompany in Belgium, and discussions are underway.
The Daily Mail add that the former Oxford United man has been offered new terms by the Yorkshire outfit, but as of yet nothing has been agreed between the two parties with the latest story suggesting he could be on his way.
Leeds’ Championship campaign starts on Sunday against Bristol City, but the striker wouldn’t have been involved anyway following the injury he suffered during the pre-season tour of Australia.
Big blow for Bielsa
When Roofe arrived in a £3m deal from Oxford in 2016, hopes would have been high that he could hit the ground running given his impressive goalscoring record – 31 in 65 – for the U’s.
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However, the truth was that he struggled – especially in his debut campaign when he netted just three times in 42 Championship games – initially to nail down a position in the side, often playing out wide.
While he was improved during the 2017/18 campaign, it wasn’t until Bielsa was appointed by the Whites that he truly became a key player.
The experienced Argentine manager deployed the 26-year-old through the middle as a centre-forward more often than not, and the gamble paid off as he ended last season as the club’s top marksman despite suffering injury issues and only playing 33 league games.
Making him the focal point of the team worked wonders and Roofe has even admitted how much his boss helped him, and Bielsa has to take huge credit for the work he put in with the Englishman on the training ground to make that happen.
Thogden ranks all 24 Championship away kits in the video below…
Should the attacker leave in the coming days for Anderlecht however, all of that hard graft will be undone and it is hardly great news on the eve of the 2019/20 campaign – especially when Patrick Bamford is your only senior striker.
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