‘A top teammate’ – Daniel Farke has made Glen Kamara transfer stance clear amid Leeds United exit links
The Leeds United midfielder has been linked with a move to Rennes but Daniel Farke will be desperate not to lose an experienced head.
The sale of Archie Gray may well have eased financial pressures at Leeds United but hope of dampening transfer speculation quickly waned. Gray’s £40million move to Tottenham Hotspur wasn’t confirmed by the end of June but it was far enough down the line for Leeds to put that much-needed money into last season’s accounts.
The Yorkshire Evening Post understands Leeds are now better-placed to get through the summer on their terms, with those in charge not actively looking to sell Crysencio Summerville, Wilfried Gnonto and the rest. But that is not stopping prospective suitors from testing the West Yorkshire waters.
Glen Kamara is the latest player to be linked with a move away from Elland Road, with reports suggesting he is close to reaching an agreement with French side Rennes. Noise is coming almost exclusively from across the Channel but interest is genuine, Rennes having tried to sign Kamara from Rangers last year.
As with Summerville, Gnonto, Georginio Rutter, Illan Meslier and every other player currently enduring the early days of pre-season training, Leeds have no plans to sell Kamara. Farke has already lost one midfielder in Gray and will not be keen to lose a second, particularly one with a rare quality among the playing squad: experience.
Kamara is 28-years-old, has almost 60 Finland caps to his name and has played in a European final for previous club Rangers. A relative veteran compared to those he has spent the past 12 months with, the midfielder was a calm head for large parts of last season and regularly leaned on by his younger teammates when the going got tough.
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“I think in general we have a really, really young squad and many young players when you have a look at our average age in the starting line-up,” Farke said back last season, following Kamara’s excellent performance in the 4-1 win over Huddersfield Town in October. “It’s important also to have some experienced players and again, we don’t have to speak about his CV, he has played for a big club with Rangers with always lots of pressure to win more or less each and every game in the league.
“He’s a proven Finland international with more than 50 caps already. So he was involved in many, many battles on the pitch, it was difficult for him in the start because he had no proper pre-season and not really games. But each and every week, each training session on the pitch with us is helpful and he’s on a good path.
“He’s definitely a player who gives us lots of quality on the ball in his decision-making, which pass to make, can also dictate the rhythm of the game. He is a top teammate, a top lad, pretty much involved in every joke that the lads have in the dressing room. So he’s a great, great guy to have around and we’re all happy together.”
Farke has regularly highlighted the need for experience in his squad and while the fearlessness of youth played such a large part in last season’s success, it was also an issue in crucial moments. The German name-checked Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy as the kind of elder statesman Leeds needed in the promotion run-in – Kamara is as close as they had.
Incoming transfer activity will likely focus on experience but Leeds must first keep the steady heads they have. Luke Ayling has left for Middlesbrough, while Jamie Shackleton – only 24 but with more than 130 first-team games under his belt – joined Sheffield United on Thursday. Liam Cooper has a contract offer on the table but is more likely to move on than sign it.
There is still a long way to go this summer and Leeds will have to fend off interest in several players. If a tempting bid arrives in the inbox, 49ers Enterprises have already shown they will seriously consider it but Kamara’s experience is a major tick for him to stay and Farke will no doubt fight that corner.
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