Leeds United have drawn their interests towards Aston Villa defender, Tommy Elphick for a possible move by the end of the January transfer window. The 30-year-old has barely featured for the Claret and Blues under Steve Bruce with just 425 minutes of game time.
Elphick arrived at Villa Park in the summer of 2016 on a £3m transfer fee and was hailed to be one of the club’s saviours at the time. He was already a key figure for the Cherries and had impressed the Aston Villa scouts over his 145 appearances for Bournemouth. But his career has taken an unlikely turn towards a rough patch and Bruce might be forced to sanction a move for the Brighton-born defender. With a series of injuries, first team action has been hard to come by and the competition for a first team spot is rife among the Villa ranks.
Elphick was an instant hit on his arrival and received support from the fans to be made club captain judging by his leadership skill from the defensive backline. He has always been a starter and warming the benches are not in his career ambitions especially at the age of just 30.
Leeds are currently struggling in the second division of English football having lost 3 of their last 4 games and making a steep drop to the 10th spot of the points table. The defensive backline of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson has been impressive but the former’s second sending off this season is a cause of concern among the club ranks. The fans at Elland Road were left shell-shocked when Millwall slotted in the two late goals to snatch away the crucial win from the club.
What started out to be one of the best chances of pushing for a promotion has turned into a dark and disappointing campaign for Thomas Christiansen who is struggling with a lack of attacking threat from the side. The striker force has failed to convert the all-important chances on goal and it looks like the final stretch of the season will not improve until and unless they sign a proven goalscorer by the end of January.
Elphick’s availability might come like a bright glow from a very dark tunnel after Liam Cooper went down to red card suspension against Millwall. He has been impressive for the Whites this season and his absence from the Leeds lineup can turn out to be a sour blow.
