Tottenham Hotspur considered move for Leeds United new boy

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch could hand a debut to new signing Weston McKennie in Sunday’s visit to Nottingham Forest - but he could have been making his bow in different colours had one Premier League rivals followed up their interest in the midfielder.

McKennie became the latest addition to the Whites squad on an initial loan deal from Serie A giants Juventus earlier this week and that move could be converted into a permanent switch at a reported cost of £35m at the end of the season. The United States international has already revealed his excitement over joining Leeds and described playing in the Premier League as ‘a dream’.

He told the club website: “It feels good to be a Leeds player, I’ve heard a lot of great things from you (Adams), Brenden Aaronson and Jesse Marsch, everyone tells me about the atmosphere here. Obviously I did my own research on the club and the support is wild, I’m really excited to be here and playing in the Premier League is a dream.

“Knowing I’m going to be playing with some of my teammates from the national team, I’m sure it will be easy to fit in and it was an easy decision for me. I’m excited to play at Elland Road, unfortunately the first two games are away, but when we play at home I’m sure I’ll have such a big adrenaline rush.”

However, The Athletic has reported Tottenham Hotspur were keen to take McKennie to North London after director of football Fabio Paritici explored a possible move for a player he persuaded to join Juventus from German club Schalke 04 in the summer of 2020.

Spurs are said to have opted against a deal after the emergence of Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur’s return from injury.