No, the duo from Valladolid isn’t coming to Leeds in January. But they might come in the summer

There have been reports linking Leeds United with a pair of Real Valladolid players in the Spanish press, but so far the English-language media have mostly missed the point of the story.

Yes, Leeds would be interested in Rubén Alcaraz and Toni Villa, but not as reinforcements in the winter transfer window, as they would be far too expensive for Leeds without a promotion to the Premier League.

The Leeds Director of Football, Victor Orta, has a lot of experience in Spain, and so it’s not surprising to see Leeds linked with players currently in La Liga. Additionally, Toni Villa played at Cultural Leónesa, who have (or had, at least) a partnership agreement with Leeds.

Of the two of them, Alcaraz is the more established player, as he’s 27 years old and has made 19 total appearances in all competitions for Valladolid this season, scoring two goals and registering an assist. Whoscored.com rates him as the second-best performer for Valladolid this season. Valladolid were promoted from the Spanish second division last year, and while they aren’t having a great season, they are above the drop zone and sit in 15th place on 22 points, above La Liga regulars Celta Vigo and Villarreal. Alcaraz would likely provide competition for Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich in the midfield, as he’s been used also exclusively as a central midfielder or a defensive midfielder in his career.

Toni Villa is the other player linked with Leeds, and he’s a winger/ attacking midfielder would likely provide cover on the wing and in the number 10/ enganche position. He’s also gotten two goals this season, and Whoscored rates him as the 4th best performer for Valladolid this season. He’s only 24 years old, and he was on-loan at Cultural Leónesa during the 2016-17 season that saw Cultural promoted to the Segunda División for the first time in many decades.

These are exciting times for Leeds, but don’t get bogged down in transfer links that may or may not happen in July. If these two join it will be in the summer, so don’t believe the hype from the English media who can’t be bothered to read the original sources in Spanish.