Football Insider revealed yesterday that Leeds United winger Jack Clarke is about to have a medical with Tottenham before putting pen to paper on a new deal with the club after Spurs and Leeds agreed on a fee of £8.5million plus add-ons.
The 19-year-old broke into the Leeds first team last season and went on to make 25 appearances for the Whites, scoring 2 goals and assisting 2 others. His pace and direct style of play won many admirers among the Elland Road faithful last season.
Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan has now revealed his displeasure with the reported deal that Leeds have stuck with Spurs over the transfer of Clarke.
The 44-year-old accused Leeds Chairman Andrea Radrizzani of being “too soft” in the negotiations with Spurs and suggested that the club could have gotten more money for the talented teenager if they had been tougher.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said, “If Leeds sell Clarke for £8.5-£10million, that shows weakness. We’re being soft yet again when we need to be tough. We’ve gone down the route we went with Lewis Cook, who’s now worth three or four times what Bournemouth paid us for him.
“It’s desperate from Leeds, I’m afraid. £8m, £10m it’s a disgrace. We need to be stronger as a club than that. The chairman, Mr Radrizzani, needs to be stronger.
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“You can’t blame the young man for having his head turned by Tottenham. They’re a big club who were in the Champions League final a month ago. Which Championship teenager wouldn’t be interested?
“I don’t want Leeds to be a selling club, I really don’t. I’m afraid Mr. Radrizzani has let the fans down with this one. If he got £13m straight up, that would make a difference, as you can buy three quality players.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Leeds fans and former players seem to be upset at the deal is a good sign for Spurs as it means that Levy has yet again got the better of his counterpart.
While most of us wouldn’t have seen much of Clarke, it will certainly be exciting to see how he improves under Pochettino if the deal does go through.
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