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Another day, another transfer rumour involving Leeds United.
This time, the rumour de jour is that Leeds, along with West Ham United and Derby County, are interested in Blackpool’s on-loan winger Viv Solomon-Otabor. All Nigeria Soccer is reporting that the 22 year-old Soloman-Otobar has attracted the attention of a number of clubs after a successful loan spell at Blackpool FC.
Report: Leeds rivalling West Ham to sign Viv Solomon-Otabor #lufc #whufc #dcfc #bcfc #leedsunitedfc #mot #alaw #rams https://t.co/UaVlVTvDPZ
— HITC Transfer News (@HITCdeadlineday) April 20, 2018
Solomon-Otabor, who is on loan from Birmingham City, was sent out on loan before the start of the season by then Birmingham manager Harry Redknapp. And while he’s been on loan at Blackpool, Solomon-Otabor has put in a number of good performances. He’s scored five goals in all competitions for Blackpool, and has also chipped in four assists.
Blackpool have exceeded expectations in their first season back in League One, and the play of Solomon-Otabor has been one of the reasons that the club is in 11th place in League One, only eight points off of the playoff places, rather than struggling for survival.
As for the likelihood of this rumour coming true, well, I normally wouldn’t put too much stock into rumours like this, but last season, when rumours about Caleb Ekuban joining Leeds from Chievo Verona started from Ghana Soccernet, I thought the rumours were ridiculous. Of course, we all know how that turned out, for better or worse, so these kinds of rumours should never be dismissed straight away.
At least Solomon-Otabor is relatively young, being only 22 years-old, and a spell playing everyday in League One could prove that he’s ready for a step up in competition. However, performances in League One don’t necessarily translate to success in the Championship. Could he come in and do a job for Leeds? Possibly. Hopefully Leeds won’t get into a bidding war with West Ham or Derby for his services, as those two clubs will have more resources to throw at transfers, especially West Ham.
So if the young winger joins, great on All Nigerian Soccer for breaking the news. If nothing happens from this rumour, then we know take their stories with a healthy grain of salt.