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Pablo Hernandez. Liam Bridcutt. Mateusz Klich. Eunan O’Kane. Ronaldo Vieira. Toumani Diagouraga. Kalvin Phillips.
Those are our current group of guys that play in the midfield, be it attacking, central, or defensive. For the most part, it’s a good group of guys to have to choose from. With that said, it hasn’t stopped the club from being linked to more midfielders. One guy who has been heavily linked to the club is former fan favorite Jonny Howson.
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Howson, of course, made 225 appearances for the Whites from 2006-2012, before Leeds infamously “reluctantly accepted” a bid from Norwich City, and he’s played for the Canaries ever since. This summer has seen karma come around to Carrow Road as this time it's Norwich who are reluctant to sell Howson, but the player snubbed a new contract, and the birdies want more money to bring in new signings. A move back to Leeds has been reported ever since. However, it looks like a reunion will not happen.
Garry Monk’s Middlesbrough has reportedly won the race for Howson, with the deal likely to be around £4.5million.
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Honestly, I’m glad.
Of course, having Howson return to his old stomping grounds would be amazing. Nostalgia would fill the air as fans get flashed back to 2011 when Howson was our captain. But simply put, he’s not exactly needed here. The only thing Howson would bring to Leeds United is jersey sales.
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Leeds are at a point where there’s no need for us to be shelling out £4.5million for a player that would create a logjam in the middle of the park. Howson is good, but I’d rather see the development of the likes Vieira and Phillips (among others). Giving them game time is important, more important than bringing back an aging icon. £4.5million is a lot of money, and it should be spent on a position of need, on a left back or Chris Wood’s new dancing buddy, for example.
Only time will tell if it will be.