Leeds Left With Unwanted Contract Situation

Presenter Conor McGilligan has had his say on the situation on the situation with Luis Sinisterra at Leeds United.

The Colombian forward has been embroiled in some controversy in recent weeks at Elland Road.

What is the latest news regarding Sinisterra?

Leeds are currently dealing with some legal problems involving the forward’s contract situation.

Throughout this summer, the recently relegated side has lost a number of players on loan due to clauses included in the contracts they signed when they were in the Premier League. Some of these departures include Brendan Aaronson to Union Berlin, Robin Koch to Eintracht Frankfurt, Maximilian Wober to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Rasmus Kristensen to Roma, Marc Roca to Real Betis and most recently Jack Harrison to Everton, despite a later push from Aston Villa according to Fabrizio Romano.

Despite the number of departures, the Yorkshire side have managed so far to keep three of their top talents at the club with Wilfried Gnonto, Tyler Adams, and Sinisterra still at Elland Road at the time of writing.

Gnonto was one of the few players whose contract didn’t contain a relegation clause, whilst the loan clauses in both Adam’s and Sinisterra’s contracts have now expired, handing the negotiating power back to Leeds.

However, it is not all positive on that front. The young Italian is reportedly refusing to play for the club, and is pushing for a move to Everton, who saw a £15m bid rejected earlier in the window, whilst there are some legal questions regarding the Colombian’s contract.

Due to both player’s situations, neither are training with the first team at the moment, with Daniel Farke saying:

“We spoke openly about it would be a bumpy August and that there are exit clauses in contracts. It’s not professional to speak about it but the closer we edge to the end of the window, the more control we are in.

“It is easier to say that Helder Costa, Luis Sinisterra and Willy Gnonto are training separately from the group, they have individual training in order to stay fit and be prepared. With Luis, it is different (to Gnonto). He had some clauses in his contract, and it was more like an open contractual question marks and legal question marks for how this was set up exactly. For that, he was not available for the last game. Until everything is clear, he won’t train with the group because his mind can’t concentrate fully on football.”

Speaking on the One Leeds Fan Channel YouTube channel, McGilligan stated that there are complications with the player’s contract, and that the previous ownership’s arrogance has cost them in these situations:

“The issue that Leeds have got is that there is apparently a termination clause in Luis Sinisterra’s contract. Now, there’s a lot of specifics in that and I won’t get into the details but that is why Daniel Farke was mentioning yesterday about some complications legally with Sinisterra and his deal with Leeds United.

“So yeah, all these clauses are basically indicative of the previous ownership and how arrogant they were, how they didn’t think we’d go down so these clauses were almost a frivolous thing they put into contracts and now obviously Leeds United are reaping the negatives really in terms of losing a lot of players for loans and all this sort of stuff.”

What is next for Leeds?

Leeds will be hoping to have a strong end to this transfer window.

Sinisterra could depart this summer if the contract situation is sorted, with Leeds hoping to recoup some money for the forward who joined from Dutch side Feyenoord last summer for a fee of £21m.

According to journalist Pipe Sierra, the forward has asked the club to listen to offers for him, and that the Yorkshire side are asking for £22m to sell the 24-year-old, however feel they do not need to sell the player as he is contracted until 2027.

Gnonto also looks set to depart, with many around the football world left disappointed with his actions and conduct to try and force through a move. Everton remain interested in the forward, and London World report that Spurs are now considering a move for the forward after selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

Adams was set to join Chelsea, however, that move collapsed as the Blues focused their attention on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, and then a reported move to Bournemouth ultimately never materialised, so it remains to be seen whether he will depart Elland Road this summer and whether teams will take a risk on him with his current injury concerns.