Sources: Club close to signing Leeds home-grown star as lucrative offer lined up

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Published on:

31 Jul 2019, 1:30 am

By Wayne Veysey

Barnsley are closing in on the signing of Leeds United home-grown star Tom Pearce as they prepare to offer him a lucrative long-term contract, Football Insider has learned.

The newly-promoted Championship club are working on prising a third player from Elland Road this summer after previously sealing the captures of centre-back Aapo Halme and forward Mallik Wilks.

A Barnsley source has told Football Insider that the club are willing to offer Pearce, 21, a pay rise and a long-term deal to entice him from Elland Road, where he has progressed through the youth ranks after joining in his mid-teens.

The left-back is set to be presented with either a four-year contract, or a three-year deal with the option of a fourth year, as he weighs up whether to make a late-window move across Yorkshire.

He put an end to speculation about his future last summer by signing a new contract that runs until 2022.

But Pearce failed to establish himself in the Leeds team after Marcelo Bielsa took over as manager and was leapfrogged in the pecking order not only by Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski, but also the versatile Stuart Dallas and fellow rookie Leif Davis.

Pearce spent the second half of last season on loan at Scunthorpe United and has not been involved in Leeds' pre-season plans.

He made the last of his 10 Leeds appearances in October of last year, following an extended run as a substitute and has failed to convince Bielsa he should be granted a more prominent role.

In other Leeds United news, it can be REVEALED that a club are tabling £2m-a-year United player offer as talks advance.

Barnsley

Leeds United