Updated transfer news:
Dennis Wise has finally given up on 30-year-old defensive midfielder Shaun Derry and has sold him to Crystal Palace, for whom he had been playing on loan. Derry hasn't played a game for Leeds since recovering from a long-term heel injury late last year.
I'm not sure I agree with the decision to sell Derry - Leeds may need to get rid of a few midfielders, but Derry was one of our best players last season. Does wise think that Derry is past it? If so, selling him now - before his age makes him less marketable - is a great decision. Or has he made a serious mistake?
Incidentally, there's a superb interview with Shaun Derry available here, in which he describes his love for Leeds and the fact that his son will be raised as a Leeds United fan, even though Derry is leaving the club. Good man.
Alan Thompson, the 34-year-old Leeds left-winger and central midfielder, has left Leeds on a one-month emergency loan deal with fellow League One team Hartlepool United. He has been forced out of the first team at Leeds thanks to the ludicrous number of midfielders in the current squad (15 at last count, and Leeds have signed at least three more in this transfer window).
I'm not an admirer of the latter player, so here's hoping that Thompson's loan move becomes a permanent one. God knows, we could do with losing a few midfielders at the moment.