Delighted Grot bags Leeds deal after £15m sale of Wood
LEEDS UNITED new signing JayRoy Grot could make his debut tomorrow as the Championship club look to fill the 27-goal gap left by Chris Wood’s departure.
The 19-year-old has signed a four-year deal after joining from Dutch club NEC for an initial £750,000 in a deal that could double in add-ons.
With summer signing Caleb Ekuban facing a spell on the sidelines through injury and Wood having joined Burnley in a £15m deal, head coach Thomas Christiansen has a selection headache ahead of the visit to Nottingham Forest that may be solved by bringing in Grot.
He netted five times in 20 Eredivisie outings last season and was on the radar of Serie A side Fiorentina earlier in the summer.
On the switch to Elland Road, Grot said: “I am very happy. This is such a big club and this is a big step in my career. I am delighted to sign for Leeds United.
“It has been my dream to play in England and so to do that at a club like Leeds is really exciting.”
Adding to Christiansen’s problems ahead of taking on a Forest side fresh from knocking Premier League Newcastle United out of the Carabao Cup in midweek is Pablo Hernandez also facing time on the sidelines after limping out of the 2-0 win at Sunderland.
The extent of both his injury and that of Ekuban, who was on crutches at Tuesday’s Cup win over Newport County, is yet to be disclosed by the Dane, but there can be little doubt that adding another striker in the wake of Grot’s arrival remains a priority.
Rudy Gestede was the subject of a £6m bid that Middlesbrough quickly dismissed earlier this week, while Preston’s Jordan Hugill and Norwich City’s Nelson Oliveira are also believed to have been looked at by United’s recruitment staff.
Stuart Dallas, meanwhile, is wanted by Norwich City with sources in Norfolk suggesting the Canaries can exploit the Northern Ireland winger being into the final year of his existing deal at Elland Road.
The 26-year-old, 11 games short of a century in a United shirt, has been involved in all but the opening fixture of Christiansen’s reign and last weekend netted in the triumph at the Stadium of Light.
Toumani Diagouraga, a £575,000 signing from Brentford by Steve Evans in January 2016, is expected to terminate his contract at Elland Road amid interest from Barnsley, Milton Keynes Dons and Bristol City. His deal was due to expire next summer.