Leeds United officials spotted as they move to seal summer signing, player’s goodbye match

The way it’s being reported in Italy, and this is how it’s felt for some time, Jerry Mbakogu to Leeds United is just missing the announcement.

Getting 23 minutes on Saturday for Carpi against Cittadella, the striker played for the exact amount of time he’d hadin the previous match too. That would suggest, along with his 12 minutes against Empoli previously, Carpi are moving carefully with Mbakogu after he returned from a knee injury.

It could also be instructions from Leeds United, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting ’emissaries’ from the club were spotted in the Carpi stands on Saturday. It’s claimed Leeds United will take the player to England once the Italian season is over, with Carpi set to play Bari next Friday.

The Bari match is away, and therefore the Italian newspaper point out Mbakogu was in his goodbye match on Saturday, playing for the last time in front of fans he’s known for five years.

Leeds United fans aren’t exactly thrilled about the move, but, as we’ve pointed out before, Mbakogu is very highly thought of at Carpi. Club officials praise him, the local media does too, and losing the player is being seen as a blow.

Gazzetta dello Sport estimate the transfer at ‘about €3.5m’, and the Nigeria-born 25 year old doesn’t need a work permit because he recently secured Italian citizenship.