Leeds United missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season as they were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May.
The Whites attempted to return to the top-flight at the first time of asking under head coach Daniel Farke but finished third in the second tier, just below automatic promotion, before falling short in the play-offs.
This means that the West Yorkshire side are now preparing for a second season in the Championship and have to be wary of losing their best players throughout the summer transfer window.
Teenage sensation Archie Gray has already completed a move away from Elland Road to sign for Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur, with Joe Rodon returning to Leeds on a permanent deal coming the other way.
The Whites are also at risk of losing some more of their top players as it was recently reported that Crysencio Summerville, Wilfried Gnonto, and Georginio Rutter are 'likely'.
Alongside the superstar names who could depart from Yorkshire, Leeds are also reportedly on the verge of selling one of their key performers from last term.
Leeds ace set to leave this month
Fabrizio Romano recently reported that the club have agreed a deal with Ligue 1 side Rennes to sell defensive midfielder Glen Kamara this month.
The two teams have reached an agreement for a fee of €10m (£8.4m) and the Finland international is now set to complete an exit from the side after just one year.
Leeds swooped to sign the star from Glasgow Rangers last summer for a reported fee of £5m and are now set to make a profit of more than £3m on a player who turns 29 later this year.
That appears to be good business on paper for the Whites, purely from a financial perspective, as they are set to make money on an experienced ace, rather than an up-and-coming talent, which could then give them money to reinvest in the team.
Farke could now perfectly replace Kamara before the end of the transfer window by swooping to sign reported target Oliver Skipp from Tottenham Hotspur.
GIVEMESPORT claimed at the start of July that the club want to snap up the former England U21 international but they could struggle as Spurs are not desperate to cash in on them, due to the homegrown quota in the Premier League.
However, it was said that his relationship with Farke, who he worked with during their time together at Norwich, could help Leeds in a potential deal.
Skipp could come in as a brilliant replacement for Kamara in the middle of the park for Leeds as he can offer similar qualities at Championship level.
Glen Kamara's metronomic play for Leeds
The Finland international provided a calming and reliable presence on the ball for the Farke in the second tier during his first, and likely only, season at Elland Road.
He used his athleticism and quality to buzz around the pitch and pop passes off to control games by dictating the tempo and moving teams around to then find the team's attacking players in dangerous positions.
Kamara ranked within the top 10% of Championship midfielders for passes attempted per 90 (65.01) and the top 6% for progressive passes per 90 (6.87).
This shows that the former Rangers star, who also provided three assists in 37 league outings, is an excellent passer as he ranked highly among his positional peers at getting on the ball and progressing play with his passes.
Appearances
37
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.9
Ball recoveries per game
4.1
Ground duel success rate
58%
Aerial duel success rate
54%
As you can see in the table above, Kamara also provided quality out of possession for Leeds with his strong play in duels both on the deck and in the air.
The 28-year-old ace used his physicality to win the ball back multiple times per match, through tackles, interceptions, and recoveries, to cut out opposition attacks.
These statistics show that he was an ideal deep-lying midfielder for Farke due to his quality play in possession, getting on and progressing the ball, and his strength in duels to compete in challenges defensively.
This is why his exit will come a blow to Leeds in the here and now, but Farke could move on from Kamara by brilliantly replacing him with Skipp.
Why Leeds should sign Oliver Skipp
The Whites must push to secure an agreement with Spurs to sign the former Norwich loanee as he is a proven Championship performer who has also worked with the manager before.
Farke, who hailed the midfielder as a "perfect" and humble person, had the young starlet on loan with the Canaries during the 2020/21 campaign, and the English ace's performances landed him a place in the league's Team of the Season that term.
Skipp has not played more than 23 Premier League games in a single season since he returned from Norwich in the summer of 2021 and Leeds could look to tempt him with the prospect of regular game time under a manager who knows how to get the best out of him.
When he did play week-in-week-out for Norwich in the 2020/21 campaign under Farke in the Championship, the 23-year-old metronome's performances suggest that he would be a fantastic replacement for Kamara.
Appearances
45
37
Goals
1
0
Big chances created
3
2
Dribbles completed per game
0.6
0.5
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.3
1.9
Ground duel success rate
62%
58%
As you can see in the table above, both players offer very little in the final third when it comes to scoring and creating goals but excel out of possession.
Skipp made 1.4 more tackles and interceptions per game and won a higher percentage of his duels on the ground in comparison to Kamara, which suggests that the potential is there for him to improve Leeds' play off the ball.
The £40k-per-week ace also ranked within the top 28% of midfielders for progressive passes per 90 (4.86), which shows that he can also progress play in a similar fashion to the Finnish star.
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Therefore, Farke could brilliantly replace the Rennes-bound ace by signing another midfielder who can dominate opposition midfields with his play in and out of possession.
