Why Leeds United should avoid a move for Rekeem Harper

According to The Sun on Sunday (print edition, page 65, January 19), Leeds United are among a host of Championship clubs weighing up a move for out-of-favour West Brom midfielder Rekeem Harper.

Harper enjoyed a breakthrough at The Hawthorns in the previous campaign and clocked up as many as 17 appearances in the league as the Baggies made it all the way through to the playoffs. 

Having established himself as one of the brightest young talents in the English second-tier, the academy graduate put pen to paper on a new long-term deal with his club this past summer shortly after the appointment of Slaven Bilic at the helm of affairs. 

Despite that, the youngster’s only involvement so far in the Championship was a six-minute cameo against Nottingham Forest on opening day back in August.

As a matter of fact, Harper has failed to make the matchday squad for any of West Brom’s league fixtures since August, which pretty much sums up how far down the pecking order he is at the moment. The 19-year-old clearly needs regular minutes to progress in his career.

Meanwhile, Leeds United’s 1-0 defeat against QPR on Saturday meant that the Whites slumped to their second consecutive loss in the Championship. The West Yorkshire giants suffered a blip at a similar point last season that ultimately proved damaging to their hopes of securing automatic promotion.

Having parted ways with Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah earlier in the month, it is a no-brainer that Leeds need to prioritize the recruitment of a new striker to reduce the dependence on undisputed first-choice Patrick Bamford, who continues to be a key cog in Bielsa’s engine.

However, Leeds United’s interest in securing the services of Rekeem Harper on loan doesn’t make a lot of sense. 

Indeed, the Whites could certainly do with a bit more quality cover in the middle of the park, with Bielsa often forced to shoehorn Stuart Dallas into a central midfield role alongside Mateusz Klich to cover for the absence of Adam Forshaw, who hasn’t played since September due to a long-term injury. 

Dallas has looked like a fish out of the water in an unfamiliar role but having said that, Harper is far from being the answer to the club’s problems. 

Verdict

Leeds United have already got promising young midfielders like Jordan Stevens, Jamie Shackleton and Alfie McCalmont trying to make an impression on the first-team and it would be completely bizarre if Bielsa brings in Harper on loan to seek additional cover.

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That would have a negative impact on the development of the club’s own academy graduates and Harper, as such, doesn’t look good enough to break into Leeds’ starting XI at the moment.