Samu Saiz transfer to Leeds United finally confirmed

Leeds United have signed Spanish forward Samuel Saiz from Spanish 2nd division side Huesca. The Whites have been linked to a move for Saiz for a few weeks now, and had stepped in at the last minute to stop a rumored deal to send the player to La Liga side SD Eibar, who will be playing Leeds in a preseason friendly as part of the Whites visit to Austria.

There had been rumors of a double switch, with Huesca midfielder Alexander Gonzalez also rumored to be on the move, but it appears that only Saiz will be making the move to Elland Road. Saiz had recently spent a couple of days on holiday in Miami, and reports surfaced at the end of last week that he would sign today, Monday July 10th.

Saiz has played as a winger, forward, and as a withdrawn second striker in Spanish football. He started out in Real Madrid’s youth system, but the 26 year old has bounced around various clubs over the past few years.

He joined Getafe CF in 2012 after being loaned out twice from Real Madrid’s youth system to the reserves of Sevilla in 2010 and to third division UD Melilla in 2011. His spell at Getafe B, the third division reserve team for Getafe CF, was fairly successful as he scored 11 times in 44 appearances. He moved on from Getafe after one season, signing for Almeria in 2013 and followed that with a move to Atlético Madrid in 2014. He had a successful season at Atlético Madrid B in 2014-15, scoring 13 goals in 46 appearances. He moved to Huesca first on loan in 2015, and then made the deal permanent last fall, with Atléti retaining a 50% stake in his rights.

Leeds have been busy during the summer transfer window, signing Poland international Matuesz Klich from FC Twente, German goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald from Werder Bremen, and snapped up Vurnon Anita on a free after he was released by Newcastle, as well as making the loan deal for Hadi Sacko permanent and signing promising youngster Ronaldo Vieira to a long-term contract at the club. And that’s not even counting the buyback of Elland Road and the announcement of the a streaming service for overseas fans of Leeds. What a time to be fan.