On Thursday, Sport Witness was able to confirm Goal’s information that Leeds had tried to sign Ibai Gomez from Alaves in the summer, as well as learning the player is very interested in a move to England, where Marcelo Bielsa would be ready to welcome him with open arms.
The club’s history and status in English football was definitely a plus for the player, and with a contract running out in June 2019, he’ll be free to speak to any club from January 1st onwards.
With that in mind, El Desmarque in Spain report that Leeds are still keen on signing Gomez, and are ‘looking at’ the January transfer window.
In order to do so, they’d have to pay Alaves a small fee, but it would certainly be considerably less than anything they asked for a few months ago.
It’s worth keeping in mind the La Liga club are currently 3rd in the table, and Gomez was the one who said no to a move to Leeds, wanting to stay with his current side for the 2018-19 campaign.
That means it seems highly unlikely he’ll just leave them in the lurch midway through the season, especially considering the good form they’re in. But still, that’s what Marcelo Bielsa wants as he looks to ramp up for the club’s promotion campaign.
Perhaps the most probable scenario is Gomez looking at all the offers that come his way in January, sitting down with everyone involved and working out what is best for his career.
At 28, this could be his final chance to play football in a new country, and, as we said on Thursday, where better to do so with Marcelo Bielsa, who already knows him well from their time together at Athletic Club Bilbao?
