Leeds United are known to have an interest (Birmingham Mail) in 19-year-old left-back Sam McCallum. The youngster currently plies his trade for Coventry City. Along with the Whites, a whole host of clubs which include Nottingham Forest, West Bromwich Albion, Huddersfield Town and Aston Villa are known to have an interest in McCallum’s signature.
Mark Robins’ warning to interested clubs
However, the Sky Blues’ boss Mark Robins has shot a warning that a monumental sum would be needed to sign their academy product. The manager recently said, ”He’s a really good player, but if anyone wants to take him it’s going to cost a hell of a lot of money. There’s no interest or appetite to sell, and I wouldn’t think it would be beneficial for him to go anywhere at this stage.”
”He’s not at the stage where he’s going to be a regular every week, but the possibility is that he will be. You know what I think of him and what we think about him here, and for us to let him go, it would take a monumental bid from anyone.”
It’s clear that Coventry rate McCallum highly and prospective buyers will have to shell out a decent sum to land him. The League One side signed him last season from non-league outfit Herne Bay. The fullback enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season as he featured in eight matches across all competitions. However, this season, the Canterbury born youngster is much closer to first-team football as he has already started in four games in the League One.
The Whites have two decent left sided fullbacks in the form of Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski. Douglas’ form has gone down in the past few months and the former Wolves player has also struggled with injuries. Alioski is more of a winger, but he has thrived as a fullback given his tenacity and energy on the flanks.
Worth going after?
McCallum is definitely worth watching out for as he has got impressive pace and he can be a typical attack-minded fullback. He is unlikely to be ready to play first-team football for the Whites now, but with time, he could be a top signing. We think that he is worth going after in the future even though Coventry boss has already warned the prospective buyers. The Whites are known to promote young talents. They are also one of the favourites to be promoted to the English top-flight this season which could help them lure the 19-year-old to Elland Road.
