The stance Leeds United should take as club eye Newcastle player: Opinion | OneFootball

Leeds United are one of several teams currently interested in signing Newcastle United midfielder Jeff Hendrick, according to Football Insider.

They aren't the only team interested in luring the Irishman away from St James' Park though, with Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion and Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen also believed to be keeping tabs on his situation as we enter the final couple of days of the summer transfer window.

The Whites are one side that have certainly lacked senior midfield options during the early stages of the season, with 17-year-old Archie Gray becoming a key part of Daniel Farke's plans.

Thankfully for them, they have recruited Ethan Ampadu who could be an extremely useful asset not just this term, but also beyond that.

The sale of Tyler Adams should give them the license to spend in this area though and one cheap addition that could come in is Hendrick.

Considering he's nowhere near the first team at the moment, he's likely to be available to secure a move away before tomorrow's deadline and considering their stature and pull, Farke's side would be one of the favourites to secure his signature if they are serious about bringing him in.

After failing to impress at Queens Park Rangers during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, he was given the whole of last season to impress at then-Championship outfit Reading.

The Royals were under the stewardship of Paul Ince at the time of his arrival - and they actually made a decent start to 2022/23.

However, they collapsed around the start of 2023 and failed to recover from the points deduction they received back in April, with that punishment effectively consigning them to League One football.

Unfortunately for Hendrick, he didn't put in too many man of the match performances during his stay at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and was accused by many supporters of failing to put his stamp on games.

And they had a point, because Hendrick was invisible at times. It's such a shame and Ince's tactics can probably be partly blamed for the Irishman's failure to thrive in Berkshire because when the midfielder did make valuable contributions, he shone.

Unfortunately, he failed to do enough at both QPR and Reading to suggest that he should be an important player for a promotion-chasing team in the second tier.

He could be a reasonably decent squad player because of his experience - but it would be difficult to see him making too much of an impact either as a starter or from the bench.

And the Whites need additions that are going to make an impact if they want to give themselves the best chance of securing a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Hendrick may be a cheap addition and available, something that's ideal for Leeds considering they probably don't have a huge amount left to spend following a lack of player sales, but he's probably not worth recruiting at this point.