'I'd question whether he's good enough' - Leeds United join chase for Championship midfielder: The verdict

Football League World

By George Harbey

Published Aug 18, 2020

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leeds United have been linked with the signing of Wigan Athletic midfielder Joe Williams, as per reports from Football Insider.

Leeds have already poached one of Wigan's brightest prospects this summer, with Joe Gelhardt arriving at Elland Road on a four-year deal from the DW Stadium.

The Whites are now reportedly looking to take another one of Wigan's most prized assets, with Williams said to be on their radar.

The 23-year-old - who made 40 appearances for the Latics in 2019/20 - has recently been linked with moves to Middlesbrough, Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion after an impressive campaign.

With Wigan looking to raise funds after recently entering administration, the midfielder could be available for as little as £1.5m this summer - but should Leeds pounce?

Here, the FLW team discuss this potential arrival...

Ned Holmes

The thought of Williams developing under Marcelo Bielsa really excites me but I'd question whether he's good enough for the Whites at the moment.

The Wigan midfielder looks a player with a high ceiling to me. He's dynamic, industrious and has something about him, all characteristics that I think would make him popular at Elland Road.

My concern is that I'm just not convinced he's good enough for the Premier League at the moment and with less than a month to go until their first season back in the top flight begins, that should be their priority.

If he's available for a particularly good price, which he could well be, then by all means they should snap him up but their main focus needs to be on adding some more top-flight quality.

Alfie Burns

It’s a cheap deal to look to do, but I’d leave it alone.

Williams isn’t an upgrade on what Leeds have in terms of senor midfielders and, in my opinion, Bielsa might as well use Jamie Shackleton ahead of prioritising this signing.

He’s shown plenty of promise during the run-in and it’d be a kick in his teeth if Williams arrived to knock him down the pecking order.

There’s more pressing concerns in Bielsa’s squad, in my opinion, so I’d be letting West Brom steal a march here.