‘Joined The Race’ – Leeds United Face More Competition For Midfielder | OneFootball

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Leeds United now face further Premier League competition for Southampton’s Shea Charles as Fulham have ‘joined the race’ to sign him, according to journalist Alex Crook.

The Yorkshire giants have not done much this summer yet, as the free agent arrival of Harry Wilson has been the only bit of business they have done so far.

Leeds are expected to do much more business over the coming weeks and months as they try to establish themselves in the Premier League.

Midfielder Anton Stach, who joined the club last summer, has been a huge success, though Sean Longstaff’s impact has been more limited and Daniel Farke wants to add in the engine room; there has also been speculation Ao Tanaka could leave.

Southampton’s highly rated midfield general Charles has been a long-term target for Leeds and they have been looking to get him over the line.

Leeds sent in a bid for the 22-year-old, but their offer was deemed not enough by Southampton, who remain a Championship side.

It was made clear that Leeds need to improve their offer ‘significantly’ to stand a chance of getting their hands on the ex-Manchester City academy graduate.

However, they now do not have a clear path towards the Northern Ireland international, with more Premier League clubs joining the race for him.

Earlier this week, Crystal Palace entered the race for Charles, but they are not the only London team to be in the conversation for the Saints star.

It has been suggested that Fulham are now also chasing the 22-year-old midfielder, who is in high demand this summer.

Charles is considered a key player by the Championship side, and he grabbed eyeballs with his impressive winning goal against the Premier League champions Arsenal in the FA Cup last season.

With Saints having missed out on promotion, they are expected to be vulnerable to losing Charles, but want a fee they feel reflects his value.

And with so much Premier League interest in him, Southampton will fancy their chances of driving up the price.

It is unclear whether Charles has a preference out of the three Premier League sides now chasing his signature, but only Leeds give the Manchester-born midfielder the opportunity to move back north.

Crystal Palace however are the only side out of the three able to offer Charles a crack at European football.