Leeds United set to offer Ard van Peppen two-year contract

Finally, after countless rumors linking Leeds United to attacking players, a rumor finally emerges that links the club to a defender.

According to Dutch website Roda JC Live, the Whites are in the process of making a move for 31-year-old left back Ard van Peppen. The Dutchman has played his entire career in the Eredivisie but is rumored to be on newly appointed head coach Thomas Christiansen’s shortlist of players he wants at Elland Road.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

So who is he? Van Peppen is a left back who can also play centre-back when needed. He started his professional career with Feyenoord, playing for De club aan de Maas’s u19 and u21 academy teams. During his time with Feyenoord van Peppen was loaned out to satellite club SBV Excelsior. After his loan spell with Excelsior van Peppen joined De Graafchap, where he made 39 appearances and scored two goals over the course of two years for Superboeren. In 2008 AVP was loaned to former club Excelsior, signing permanently for the club at the end of his loan. He would spend the next two years with de Roodzwarten, making 72 appearances and scoring once. In 2010 van Peppen made another move, joining freshly relegated side RKC Waalwijk on a three-year deal. 94 appearances and 5 goals later, van Peppen joined Roda JC in 2013 and has been playing with De Koempels ever since. Last season Ard played 34 times across all competitions as Roda barely survived in the Eredivisie.

I’ll be honest guys, I don’t know how I feel about this one. I want to like this move, really. As long as Christiansen sees Ard van Peppen as a backup who can fill in for [whoever our starting left back is] as well as a guy who can take Pontus Jansson’s spot in the lineup when he inevitably gets suspended for accumulating yellow cards, I’m all or it. However, if TC views the Flying Dutchman (you heard it hear first, I want credit) as a starter, that's when I get worried. I’d really question whatever reasons Christiansen would give to warrant a Dutch fullback who hasn’t played a minute of English football and is on the wrong side of thirty a starting gig. However, I don’t think that will be the case, and I’ll just have to sit back and trust the brainpower at Leeds to do the right thing. The Dutchman has his own official fanpage, so he must be doing something right.