Reliable journalist: Leeds to finalise two transfers within days, 21-year-old to sign
By Alex Stevens
Alex Mowatt is set to join Barnsley from Leeds within days, according to a reliable journalist.
Radio Yorkshire presenter Joe Rawson took to Twitter on Thursday night to deliver an update on a transfer that has gathered steam in the last 24 hours.
Reports emerged on Thursday that Barnsley were keen on signing Mowatt, 21, before the window cut-off next Tuesday and it has been said the two clubs are close to agreeing a fee for the playmaker.
Rawson went one step further on his personal Twitter account on Thursday night when he reported that the deal is “set to go through in the next few days”.
But he added that Leeds are keen on landing a new signing before cashing in on Mowatt, with a “striker the priority”.
Rawson did not divulge any names of any forwards that Leeds could land in the final four days of the January window although the club have been strongly linked with West Ham’s Ashley Fletcher over the last month.
The potential departure of Mowatt has come out of the blue, although Barnsley’s need for reinforcements is clear after a spate of exits including striker Sam Winnall, right-back James Bree and midfielder Conor Hourihane to second-tier rivals this month.
Moreover, Mowatt’s current deal with Leeds expires in the summer and talks about an extension have failed to result in an agreement.
The 21-year-old has suffered a frustrating season under Garry Monk and has found himself behind the likes of Pablo Hernandez, Kemar Roofe and Hadi Sacko in the pecking order.
Mowatt has made 20 appearances this season in all competitions, but just seven of those have been starts and he has not started a league match since the 15 October defeat to Derby.
Football Insider verdict:
If Mowatt is to quit the club in which he has emerged through the ranks with distinction, there will always be a lingering sense of regret among Leeds officials and fans. He was the 2014/15 player of the year, the man the team was apparently going to be built around for years to come. But, unlike Lewis Cook, Sam Byram and, most probably, Charlie Taylor, too, Mowatt is not moving upwards to the Premier League but downwards to a side below Leeds in the Championship table. The 21-year-old doesn’t have the hyper-energetic game needed to thrive under Garry Monk and it is clear that his face doesn’t fit. For all Leeds fans, that is a shame.
In other Leeds news, there has been a finale in a major deal after a £7million Leeds bid was tabled.
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