Derby County v Reading - Sky Bet Championship - Pride Park Derby County s Louie Sibley during the Sky Bet Championship match at Pride Park, Derby. EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or live services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xNigelxFrenchx 55465688
According to Leeds Live, former Derby County coach Kevin Phillps believes that Louie Sibley could be interested in a move to Leeds United. He believes that a chance to work with a manager like Marcelo Bielsa would be exciting for the youngster. Sibley has been in good form over this season and has been linked to the Whites.
Leeds are starting to face the heat in the Premier League as their early season optimsm slowly fades out. It’s not that they have played badly but just that their squad needs reinforcements to tackle the problems of the top-flight.
Their squad looks adept in most departments but there seems to be some chinks when it comes to creative midfielders. Tyler Roberts and Pablo Hernandez are their only two players in that position while Rodrigo Moreno has been shoehorned there this season.
Louie Sibley has only just started to make waves with his performances in the Championship after making a successful transition from the academy to the senior ranks at Derby County last season.
The 19-year-old has shown glimpses of his massive potential in the English second-tier, with the hat-trick against Millwall last season arguably the highlight of his brief career so far.
The teenager has, of course, shown that he has got the potential to make the grade in the top-flight moving forward. But staying in the Championship, for now, should give him a better chance to develop his game with regular game time.
To that end, Leeds United would be better off signing Louie Sibley with one eye on the future rather than looking at him as an immediate game-changer. Hence, the ideal way forward for the Whites would be to sign him up and then loan him back to the Championship.
Essentially an attacking midfielder by trade, Louie Sibley also has the versatility to operate in box-to-box and wide roles in the midfield. That, coupled with his obvious talent and vast potential, make the Rams graduate a wonderful long-term investment for any Premier League club.
Leeds United have grabbed the headlines on several occasions with their youth recruitment drive over the past couple of years. And signing the 19-year-old ace would hand another significant boost to the Whites’ long-term plans moving forward under Marcelo Bielsa.