Mon May 22, 2017 5:53 am
Should Leeds United give Cardiff City's Tom Adeyemi a second Elland Road chance?
By Danny Owen
Monday 22nd May 2017
Norwich City and Ipswich Town are leading the race for Cardiff City outcast Tom Adeyemi - a year after his loan spell at Leeds United ended.
Tom Adeyemi of Leeds United and Allan McGregor and Curtis Davies of Hull City
If there’s one position Leeds United are perhaps not in desperate need of bodies, its central midfield. After all, with Liam Bridcutt, Ronaldo Vieira, Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips all fighting for two positions in Garry Monk’s side, it would be a surprise if any like for like replacements arrived at Elland Road this summer.
Nonetheless, with Tom Adeyemi attracting interest from Anglian rivals Norwich City and Ipswich Town, as reported by the Sheffield Star, you wonder whether Leeds United will be tempted to bring the midfielder back to Elland Road this summer.
A rare bright spot in an otherwise record-shatteringly bad Rotherham United side, the 25-year-old Millers loanee appears certain to leave parent club Cardiff City this summer after falling out of favour in South Wales.
And 2016/17 was his second successive season on loan in Yorkshire having spent the previous campaign at Leeds.
Goalscoring midfielder
However, despite The Whites having an option to buy in Adeyemi’s deal, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, the fact that he barely featured in the second half of the season meant it was no surprise when the former Oldham youngster did not stick around.
Leeds United's Tom Adeyemi tackles Derby County's Cyrus Christie
Though Adeyemi, to his credit, admitted that he would have jumped at the chance of signing a permanent deal.
And it appears that Adeyemi would be a far better addition for Leeds United now than he would have been last summer. After all, he netted six goals from midfield in a Rotherham team who finished 28 points adrift of safety in the second tier.
None of the midfielders in Leeds’ squad managed anywhere near as many, despite Monk’s side finishing in the dizzying heights of seventh. In fact, Bridcutt, Vieira, O’Kane and Phillips netted just two between them.