"A Luton Town sort of signing" - Reaction given as Leeds United battle Spurs for ex-EFL star | OneFootball

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United are set to rival Tottenham for former Derby County defender Festy Ebosele this summer, according to HITC.

Ebosele is currently in his second season with Serie A side Udinese, and has cemented his place as a key part of the team this year. He can operate as a full-back or wing-back on the right flank, and is a willing runner who will get forward on the overlap to get involved with the attack.

Daniel Farke's side are set to need options in both full-back positions in the summer, irrespective of which league they find themselves in 2024/25. Most of his options are currently with the West Yorkshire outfit on loan or out of contract within the next two summers.

Connor Roberts was signed in the January window on loan from Burnley, with Archie Gray also filling in at right-back, moving across from midfield in the absence of others through injury. The Whites are currently set to lose all of their other right-back options: Sam Byram, Jamie Shackleton, Luke Ayling, Stuart Dallas, and Cody Drameh are all out of contract this summer, whilst Rasmus Kristensen's future is likely to be away from Elland Road as well.

Gray has predominantly featured in that role so far, but will be hoping his future lies in the heart of Leeds' midfield. Meanwhile, Farke usually operates with one of his full-backs in a more advanced role, and the other in a more withdrawn and often inverted role when he sets up his side.

The verdict on Leeds' Festy Ebosele interest

FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith expects that Ebosele would only be a realistic signing if Leeds are promoted to the top-flight, but is the right type of player that the club should be after in order to be competitive next season at the bottom end of the Premier League.

"I think we need to have a right-back in mind for the summer transfer window, without doubt, given that our only two primary options for the position are an on-loan Connor Roberts and a 17-year-old midfielder in Archie Gray.

"So, looking at Festy Ebosele makes perfect sense already, just on that alone. As for the player himself, it looks like the exact sort of signing we'd need for the Premier League. Obviously, I'm expecting that we wouldn't stand a chance of signing him now if we stay in the Championship.

"He's a proper athlete of a full-back, but has the technical ability as well to carry the ball over large distances, which would be good for Farke's system. He's the type of player we'd need to improve our squad overall. "It sort of strikes me as a Luton Town sort of signing, in that a lot of their investments since they've gone up has been to get physical competitors all over the pitch, in order to really raise the level of what is an all-round poor side, but give them a fighting chance of staying up and being competitive in every game. "That's the sort of player that I could see Ebosele being for us. My only concern, though, is that he's made a real name for himself at Udinese as a flying wing-back; but, at Leeds, our success lately has been with Gray as a more inverted or more traditional role as a full-back.

"That's a bit of a contrast to what strengths he would bring to the table. At 21, though? He has got loads of time on his side to develop into more of a well-rounded full-back. Even though he is 21, he's still got two seasons of Serie A football under his belt, so is not just a youngster who's not tested at the top level."

A realistic option for Leeds United

It's hard to disagree at all with Smith's assessment of Ebosele, who is evidently a player who has developed since moving to Italy, and one who would have plenty of room to improve further if he moved to the Premier League with Leeds.

Ebosele is a very attack-minded defender, though. Despite his physicality, he likes to get forwards, which may require a slight reconfiguration of Leeds' full-back dynamics.

Gray plays the deeper role, allowing either Junior Firpo or Byram to roam further up-field down the left flank, but that may need to be switched if the Whites sign a player of Ebosele's profile this summer.