Dara O’Shea is one of the centre-backs being tracked by Leeds United ahead of the new season, with Daniel Farke in desperate need of some defensive additions.
Leeds United look set to raid some of last season’s relegated Premier League teams in Ipswich Town, Southampton, and Leicester City for some new blood ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Already this summer, Leeds United have been linked with several Southampton players including Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker-Peters, and now Shea Charles who’s an emerging target for the 49ers.
And it’s also recently come to light that Dara O’Shea is a transfer target for Leeds United. The Whites are looking perilously low on centre-back options right now, especially given the news that Max Wober has been told to leave Leeds United this summer.
Ipswich Town signed Republic of Ireland international O’Shea, 26, from Burnley last summer, in a deal worth £15million. He went on to feature 35 times in the Premier League for Kieran McKenna’s side last season.
Dara O’Shea has a stinker during Luxembourg 0-0 Ireland
On Tuesday night, Ireland went up against Luxembourg in an international friendly, and much like England, they disappointed. Albeit not so much as the Three Lions, though Ireland’s 0-0 draw against Luxembourg is still a result that’s gone down very poorly among fans. Likewise, Ipswich Town fans are concerned about O’Shea’s links to Leeds United, after he said he’s not going anywhere ‘at the moment’.
And O’Shea wasn’t at his best at all. Just a couple of days after his links to Elland Road, O’Shea put in a 5/10 performance according to Irish outlet Balls.ie, who wrote of the Dublin-born centre-back: “Dara O’Shea got pulled out of position at the back on a couple of occasions in the first half, leading to one or two dangerous Luxembourgish attacks.
“He did almost set up Collins for an Irish opener near the end of the opening period. The Dubliner played some loose passes at times, one of which almost resulted in a Luxembourg goal.”
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| Stat | O’Shea vs Luxembourg |
| Touches | 69 |
| Passes | 50 |
| Pass % | 82 |
| Defensive actions | 6 |
| Clearances | 5 |
| Tackles | 1 |
Forget Dara O’Shea, Leeds United want one centre-back right now
The heart of defence needs some extra quality and extra depth if Leeds are to stand a chance of Premier League survival next season, and it seems as though Farke has really honed in on one man ahead of the new season.
Recent reports have indicated that Leeds United want to sign Jaka Bijol in a £17million deal from Serie A outfit Udinese, with pace gathering over a potential move to Elland Road for the Slovenian international.
Although it’s understood that Leeds United and Udinese are still apart in negotiations over Bijol and so it looks like this deal still has some doing, which could keep O’Shea in Farke’s crosshairs for a while longer yet.
But more performances like his one on Tuesday night won’t do his chances of a move to West Yorkshire any favours.
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