Leeds United and Hull City will face off at Elland Road in their next Championship match but off the pitch, the Tigers may be about to win the race for a new signing.
Leeds return to Elland Road for a league fixture for the first time since the opening day of the season when they were held to a 3-3 draw by Portsmouth.
A lot has happened in that time off the pitch at Leeds, including the £40 million departure of Georginio Rutter and three new additions in Largie Ramazani, Manor Solomon and Ao Tanaka.
After a dour 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion two weeks ago, Leeds picked up their first win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
Daniel Farke‘s side will be looking to use that momentum and pick up a first home league victory since beating the Tigers back in April, who have drawn all three matches of their matches so far.
Hull City in advanced talks for Mohamed Belloumi
Before the game at Elland Road, though, there is still plenty of work for both sides to do off the pitch, with the transfer window closing at 11pm tonight.
With the signing of Isaac Schmidt set to follow Ao Tanaka’s arrival shortly, there is one position Leeds would still like to address, all be it with no guarantees.
Leeds are keen on bringing in another attacking player who can play as either a number 10 or off the right, and one player who has been linked is SC Farense’s Mohamed Belloumi.
However, a new report from Portuguese outlet Record says Leeds’ next Championship opponents Hull City are set to win the race.
It is said the Tigers are now in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Farense over prising him to East Yorkshire on a permanent deal.
Hull City are now looking to ‘accelerate the operation’ in order to get it done before tonight’s deadline.
Could Belloumi face Leeds tomorrow if he joins Hull City?
The cut-off point for new signings to be registered for the weekend’s matches has already passed, as it was at 12pm today.
That means if the Tigers are able to get a deal over the line for Belloumi, he would not be eligible to face Leeds at Elland Road.
On the contrary, it would appear Leeds’ latest signing Tanaka will be free to play due to the timing of his announcement, depending on whether Farke is prepared to throw him straight in.
Hull City have also just confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Carl Rushworth from Brighton, and so he is also likely to feature.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
