Leeds United ‘interested’ in £10m striker as Southampton boss issues Javi Gracia verdict

Leeds United are now just a matter of hours away from their relegation six-pointer with Southampton.

The Whites face the Premier League’s bottom club at Elland Road on Saturday, needing to avoid defeat to stay off the bottom of the table. A win would be a huge boost for their survival hopes, but their preparations have been disrupted with Javi Gracia being appointed without being able to get to work. The Spaniard has not yet been issued a work permit, and he is unable to begin working as a result.

As Leeds continue to work towards a resolution, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding Elland Road.

Selles’ verdict on Gracia

Leeds’ opponents this weekend, Southampton, have appointed a Spaniard of their own after sacking Nathan Jones, and they actually will be in charge this weekend.

Ruben Selles has been appointed after a short interim spell in charge, and he has issued his verdict on Leeds’ decision to hire fellow Spaniard Gracia.

“Javi is a great coach with a lot of history,” Selles said when asked about Gracia in his pre-match press conference. “He has a little different style to Jesse Marsch and he’ll bring his own philosophy.”

Gyokeres interest

On the transfer front, Leeds are said to have ‘big interest’ in Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres.

According to Football Insider, Coventry are said to be demanding between £10million and £12million for the striker, and they say Leeds will push ahead in an attempt to sign Gyokeres despite the big-money signing of Georginio Rutter. Leeds do need much more depth at the top end of the pitch, though much will surely depend on whether they can stay in the Premier League.

Having said that, Gyokeres does have Championship experience, scoring 15 goals in 33 Championship appearances. That means he could be a wise signing regardless of whether the Whites stay up or not.