Sheffield United and Leicester City may have dodged a bullet on ex-Leeds star - 'laughable' claim made | OneFootball

Ongoing developments in LaLiga may point to a potential bullet dodged by both Sheffield United and Leicester City

Few supporters at either Leicester City or Sheffield United remain entirely content with the summer transfer business conducted at either the King Power Stadium or Bramall Lane, but both clubs can take a potential sense of reprieve from dodging what now appears to be in hindsight, a real transfer bullet.

Amid the ongoing threat of a nine-point deduction from the EFL, and with the financial purse-strings having been tightened considerably in recent times, Leicester have endured mixed form under the stewardship of ex-QPR boss Marti Cifuentes.

The Foxes are positioned narrowly outside the play-off frame in eighth place, and have been buoyed by last weekend's commanding 3-1 victory over fifth-placed Ipswich Town, but they have scarcely represented a side capable of going all the way and returning to the Premier League at the very first time of asking following their relegation from the top-flight.

United, meanwhile, are showing signs of recovery after embarking upon the start to the season of nightmares, which saw Ruben Selles dismissed and replaced by his predecessor, Chris Wilder, five matches into the campaign, all of which ended in defeat.

The Blades have been left with a considerable mountain to climb in order to potentially avenge May's agonising play-off final loss to Regis Le Bris' Sunderland, and are slowly climbing up the table with just one defeat from their last seven encounters - including victories over Leicester, Stoke City and Steel City rivals Sheffield Wednesday - although Wilder's side are still picking up the pieces from such a catastrophic introduction to the campaign and a similarly-abject window of summer transfer activity, which is set to see a number of loanees return to their parent clubs next month.

Nonetheless, in spite of their respective inconsistencies and difficulties as we approach the season's midway point, the Foxes and the Blades may just share a potential mutual sense of relief at having missed out on one particular transfer.

Ex-Leeds star Manor Solomon is struggling at Villarreal after Leicester City, Sheffield United interest amid 'laughable' claim

Manor Solomon of Tottenham Hotspur was reportedly of interest to both Leicester and Sheffield United in the dying embers of the summer transfer window, with the wide-man deemed surplus to requirements in North London following an impressive stint at Leeds United to help the Whites clinch the 2024/25 Championship title.

Solomon weighed in with 10 goals and 12 assists throughout the entirety of the previous campaign for Daniel Farke's side, often appearing a player operating at a class or two above the Championship. Leicester and United, of course, ultimately missed out on his signature, with Villarreal landing the Israeli international forward instead.

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His time in Spain, however, has not gone according to plan.

Competition for places under Marcelino Garcia in a Villarreal side currently occupying third place in LaLiga behind Barcelona and Real Madrid while competing in the UEFA Champions League is undoubtedly fierce, and Solomon has often been forced to settle for a place on the bench behind the likes of Tajon Buchanan and Alberto Moleiro.

Indeed, Solomon has started just once in league action for the Yellow Submarine, racking up a mere 146 minutes of football in the Spanish top-flight at the time of writing. He has contributed one goal and one assist apiece in that time, which came in consecutive appearances from the bench to inspire late victories over Osasuna and Sevilla in September.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk flyer made a telling impact in Villareal's 6-0 Copa Del Rey rout of fifth-tier outfit Ciudad Lucena in October, laying on three goals, but has found regular minutes hard to come by both before and since.

Villarreal subsequently crashed out of the Copa Del Rey to Racing Santander of LaLiga2 on Wednesday evening and Solomon, despite only coming on for the final seven minutes of the cup upset, has emerged as the subject of fierce post-match criticism.

Yellow Submarine fan account, LaLigaLondon, took to X afterwards with some strongly-worded sentiment towards the 26-year-old, lauding his cameo appearance off the bench in Santander as "laughable" and urging Villarreal to terminate his loan deal once the January window rolls around.

Judging by how little football he has racked up over in Spain, that possibility cannot be downplayed. It's a far cry from Solomon's time at Elland Road, where he was hardly immune from backlash but ultimately provided the goods to help Leeds gain promotion, and if Leicester or the Blades are keeping any interest in how the winger is getting on with Villarreal, they may look back with a sense of relief.

Leicester City, Sheffield United have dodged potential Manor Solomon transfer bullet

It's very subjective whether a bullet really has been dodged by Leicester or Sheffield United in the case of Solomon, who, admittedly, tore up the Championship on a number of occasions last time out and both scored and assisted at will in a title-winning side.

He has, however, long struggled for consistency throughout his career, and it was hardly rare to see Whites supporters criticising Solomon's performances — even if his end product would often see him make vital contributions.

Leeds were a formidable force in the Championship, though, which Leicester and the Blades simply are not this term, and you have to wonder how much Cifuentes or Wilder could have been able to compensate for Solomon's inconsistency with fewer alternative high-quality attacking options to summon compared to Farke.

Solomon's present struggles at Villarreal may just show where the bullet has been truly dodged, mind you. The last part of the aforementioned post suggests a lack of effort and commitment from Solomon, which, if true, would pose the question of how the ex-Fulham loanee would fare in more inconsistent sides where additional fight and resilience is required.

Blades supporters in particular have lamented the lack of fight from their players at times this season, and the last thing Wilder would need is another player found wanting in that department. Solomon's exertion of effort and work-ethic is, once again, extremely subjective, but given just how much he's struggling for both form and game-time right now, it's hard to see why either club would rue missing out on a deal.

Alternatively, the calls for Villarreal to end his loan stint could just open the door once more.

Solomon would surely see no role under Thomas Frank in the second-half of the season at Spurs and, ultimately, he is a proven force at Championship level, which means it would be no surprise to see Leicester, the Blades and potentially more second-tier suitors looking to forget all about his ongoing Villarreal nightmare and re-ignite the flame that burned so brightly in West Yorkshire last season.

For the right or wrong reasons, Solomon's situation is one to watch for the Foxes, the Blades and more heading into the upcoming winter window.