Leeds United Rumored to Hijack Deal for Samu Sáiz

More transfer rumor news, as Leeds United are rumored to hijack Samuel Sáiz’s move from Huesca to Eibar

Sáiz was supposed to be on his way to Spanish club Eibar for 3.0m*, but the Whites have swooped in at the last moment with a bid to stop the attacker from joining Los Armeros. There is no major source breaking this rumor, but Leeds United was interested in Sáiz last year and are in the midst of going through a mini Spanish invasion (look at our staff), so this rumor is worth looking into.

Just about a year ago, Leeds were involved in a rumored four-way to land Sáiz’s signature over fellow English side Leicester City as well as La Liga sides Las Palmas and Sporting Gijon. None of that went down last summer, but Leeds may be looking to sign the striker a year later. From the tweet above, Leeds have come in in the 11th-hour with a strong bid, and Sáiz is on his way to England as we speak

Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images

Samu started out playing football with Real Madrid, graduating from the academy as well as playing for Real’s C and B teams. While a part of Madrid’s B team Sáiz made his international debut with Spain’s U19 team, where he would go on to earn three caps whilst playing wth the likes of David de Gea and Thiago Alcântara. He was sent on loan to Sevilla Atlético, Sevilla’s B team, in 2010/11 before joining UD Melilla on a free. A year later he terminated his contract with Melilla and signed with Getafe. After playing with the reserves, Sáiz made both his senior team debut and La Liga debut as a substitute in a 0-3 loss to Atlético Madrid. After joining UD Almería B in the summer, Samu joined Atlético Madrid in January, playing yet again with a club's B team. His time with Atleti was the best thus far in his career. He spent preseason training in Diego Simeone’s first team and was on the bench during Atlético Madrid’s clash with Villarreal. With the B side, he scored 13 times during his stay at the club. In August 2015, Samu joined SD Huesca on loan and netted his first senior team goal 17 days later. At the end of the season, Sáiz signed for Huesca permanently. Huesca played in the Segunda División, and last year Sáiz netted 12 and assisted 7 more in 43 appearances. Huesca finished 6th place last season, the highest position in club history. Unfortunately, the club missed out on promotion to La Liga after being knocked out by Getafe in the semifinals.

Samu Sáiz is a striker that has the skills to be a very good attacking midfielder. His crossing and passing skills are very, very good. He’s a physical dribbler and while he isn’t afraid to make contact with the defender, he can just as well dribble around him. He has an eye for goal and isn’t shy when it comes to letting a shot fly from distance. All in all, Same Sáiz looks to have the making of a regular first team attacking winger Leeds desperately needed last season. Chris Wood will love having a clinical crosser joining the team, and Sáiz should be a welcome addition to the club.

*EDIT: An astute reader pointed out that the 1.5m is actually the figure that both Atlético Madrid and Huesca will receive a rumored transfer fee of 3m, as Atlético Madrid retained 50% of his rights.