Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday remain amongst the clubs interested in signing Tyler Roberts at Leeds United. 

Leeds' promotion to the Premier League has limited Roberts' opportunities. He's started only two games, with Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo ahead of him in the pecking order.

Marcelo Bielsa has been without Roberts in Leeds' first two fixtures of 2021, which has fuelled speculation surrounding his future given the interest from Derby and Sheffield Wednesday, as per Football Insider.

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However, it's emerged that the 21-year-old's absence was not down to speculation.

Phil Hay has revealed that Leeds' tight-lipped stance on Covid-19 cases suggests that was the reason why Bielsa was unable to call on Roberts recently.

As per The Athletic journalist: “Leeds have taken a policy of making no comment on Covid cases.

“My understanding is that Roberts was affected by it, hence his recent absence, but that was never confirmed."

Despite a very limited impact in the Premier League for Leeds, Roberts had a decent stint in the Championship with Leeds, making 51 appearances.

He scored seven goals and registered six assists over that two-year period.

The Verdict 

The longer that Roberts remains at Leeds, the more likely it looks that Bielsa will dig his heels in and retain the forward.

Leeds can't really afford to lose many attacking bodies this month, particularly one like Roberts, who is so versatile.

He'd be good for Derby or Sheffield Wednesday, you can't deny that, but Leeds rate him and a deal isn't as straightforward as it first might have seemed.

It'll be interesting to see if either now start to move on if Roberts is in the 20 to take on Brighton today.

Thoughts? Let us know!