There’s been a ‘last-ditch’ move from Leeds United to sign Danny Loader following his release from Reading FC.  

Loader is on his way out of the Madejski Stadium this summer and has interest in him both domestically and in Europe.

As per the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace and Porto were leading the race to sign the forward, but Leeds have moved and Victor Orta has set his sights on bringing Loader to Elland Road ahead of their Premier League return.

Quiz: Do you remember which club Leeds United signed these 15 players from?

The 19-year-old made 35 appearances for Reading between 2017 and 2020, scoring twice for the Royals, with one of those goals coming in the Championship.

In 2019/20, Loader made 12 appearances across all competitions and scored in the FA Cup against Blackpool.

He was close to joining Wolves last summer, but the deal to move him onto Molineux fell through.

For Leeds, they relied on Patrick Bamford to lead the line for them in their promotion campaign, with Marcelo Bielsa relying on his 16-goal striker over the likes of Jean-Kevin Augustin and Eddie Nketiah, who arrived and departed on loan.

Tyler Roberts – the scorer of four goals in the season – was back-up to him during the run-in.

The Verdict

Loader is a good striker and when you see the likes of Palace and Porto interested in a deal, you realise he’s got ability to go right to the top.

On a free, he’d be a sound addition for Leeds; not a starter, but one for the future and a decent player for Bielsa to work with.

Orta is a persuasive Director of Football and now Leeds are in this race, let’s see if they can get it over the line.

Thoughts? Let us know!