Leeds United face transfer dilemma as Stoke City 'close in' on defender transfer

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday will be working hard on preparations for next season with pre-season now fast approaching. Danny Rohl is back from his Euro 2024 trip which saw him return to Germany with ITV, but the tournament continues to dominate attention with the group stages now coming to an end.

In the meantime, club bosses will continue to work on recruitment and in offloading players, which is particularly important for the Blades this summer. While that continues, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding the Championship clubs.

Bocat set for Stoke move

Stoke City are said to be closing in on the signing of French full-back Eric Bocat. According to Stoke on Trent Live, the Sint Truiden star will become the Potters’ third signing of the summer.

It’s expected the deal involving the Potters and the Belgian club will go through next week when pre-season begins, although a fee is already said to have been agreed, with Bocat having one year remaining on his current deal. Bocat is a 24-year-old left-back who has made 51 league appearances with his current side.

Summerville claim

Leeds United might have little option but to sell Crysencio Summerville this summer, according to journalist Ben Jacobs. He told GiveMeSport: “He has never tried to force his way out of Leeds, but there's always been an appreciation at the end of the season if Leeds were not up, that he'd be susceptible to a move, and part of that is just the fact that Leeds need to raise funds.

"This idea that it has to be £100 million is a little bit high, according to sources I speak to, because it doesn't factor in the fact that Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra have moved to Bournemouth. It is going to be reflected on this next set of financial books, and therefore the number that Leeds would need to bring in is a little bit lower, but it's still significant and Luis Sinisterra might get you somewhere close to half the number that they need."

Norwich chief on transfers

Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has been speaking about possible incoming and outgoings at the club this summer. Speaking to Pink Un, he said: "There's always pressure on us here because that's our model. Whether we have to, or we don't, we want to and that's what we define as success as well. Of course we always want to build a team that can win games and get promotion, and that's always going to be the ambition, but as well as doing that in order to be sustainable we have to try "So we put pressure on ourselves to do that. Every summer is no different in that respect. That's kind of where we are and lots of conversations on-going at the minute. But it's so important that Johannes gets that chance to look at the squad and evaluate as well. And we'll be speaking continually all the way through the window. They're the conversations that happen between a head coach and a sporting director every day. The dynamic between these two roles is so important. We do that on every level, whether it be around players, whether it be around pre-season plans, whether it be around our environment, changes we may or may not want to make.

"That's always the way that we work. Our relationship here is about trying to push each other and to challenge each other. We want to get better. As ever it would just be a conversation and ultimately trying to arrive at what we think is the best thing to do for the organisation."