Leeds United are on the verge of signing Club Brugge defender Laurens De Bock. A reliable report in the English press has claimed that the Belgian has arrived in England ahead of a medical with the Peacocks. The 25-year-old has featured in only 6 matches for his current club this season but has recently undergone training with Brugge at their winter training camp in Spain over the past few days. If De Bock passes his medical, he will be the third signing of the January transfer window for Leeds United after the Peacocks secured the services of Finnish defender Aapo Halme and midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi of Japan in the last few weeks.
The Peacocks are desperate to bolster their options this month in their quest to secure a promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs. The addition of De Bock will give their defence a massive boost going into the second half of the season.
De Bock sealed a move to Club Brugge in the winter of 2013 for a few million euros and has featured 177 times for his club, scoring 2 goals and providing 8 assists. He has also featured for KSC Lokeren in the Belgian first division before putting pen to paper on a deal with Brugge.
The 25-year-old has featured in 8 matches in all competitions for Club Brugge this term. The Belgian has struggled to play regularly in this campaign and has fallen down the pecking order at the Jan Breydel Stadium. So a move to Leeds shouldn’t come as a big surprise with the defender desperate to play regular first-team football.
Leeds United currently find themselves in sixth place in the English Championship table and are well in contention to secure a play-offs spot at the end of the campaign. And with Thomas Christensen trying to recruit wisely in this ongoing transfer window, it might give them enough push to secure a play-offs spot this term. De Bock has had two shut-outs in 4 league starts in the Jupiler Pro League which should excite Leeds fans about their new signing.
However, there are still doubts whether the 25-year-old can stay fit and overcome his recent injury concerns at Elland Road. Only time will tell whether manager Christensen will use the defender’s services regularly in the Leeds’ starting line-up as they look to have a strong second-half to their league campaign.
It remains to be seen whether De Bock can be a success at Elland Road or if he turns out to be another bust.
