Leeds United and Liam Cooper latest with no concrete offer tabled as Daniel Farke pays tribute

Though the Whites' retained list and subsequent press release confirmed on June 7 that they were in talks with both Cooper and Jamie Shackleton about extending their contracts, which ended this summer, it did not include the pair in the group who had been offered new deals.

And whilst there may have been an assumption that those talks resulted in contract offers, the YEP understands Leeds only tabled something for Shackleton, which did not match up with what was on offer for the utility man and Thorp Arch academy graduate elsewhere. Shackleton ended up signing for Sheffield United on a three-year deal.

As for Cooper, who would have been celebrating a decade at Elland Road on August 13 had he re-signed this summer, Leeds made a verbal suggestion of what they would be willing to consider in principle, which included a salary reflective of gametime and the central defensive pecking order in Daniel Farke's squad. The YEP understands the money involved would be less than he could reasonably expect to earn in League One and though there were talks between the club and Cooper's camp, no contract offer has been made or rejected.

Leeds bought Joe Rodon from Tottenham Hotspur this summer for £10m and his partnership with Pascal Struijk is expected to underpin Farke's defensive operation, with Ethan Ampadu, Max Wober and Under 21s prospect James Debayo also among the options. Last season Cooper’s injury, sustained in the act of scoring in the opening game against Cardiff, cost him a place in the side that he regained only briefly before Struijk and latterly Ethan Ampadu took over on the left-hand side of central defence. Gametime under Farke this season looked equally if not even more unlikely.

While it is understood that Leeds believed Cooper, 32, would have found himself a club elsewhere by now, there has been no official farewell from either party and there was no mention of him when the club confirmed their new leadership group during the training camp in Germany. Farke named Ethan Ampadu as the new club captain, supported by Pascal Struijk and Illan Meslier.

The manager did pay tribute to Cooper's leadership abilities on Saturday after the friendly win over Valencia. He said: "The leadership group is more or less three or four guys in their 30s, but we have a pretty young side and Ethan had the best mentor with Liam Cooper. Because Ethan is the new club captain, he has big footsteps to fill after Liam, who has been unbelievable for this club, what he did in a decade was outstanding. He led this club into the Premier League and has made sure that they had also one really good year there. He was a fantastic person and player for this club. When you’re so young in age and just one year at the club, you have to try fulfil these big footsteps, it’s never easy, but it was our choice with Ethan, Pascal and Illan, it’s a young leadership group but it’s what we’re all about."

Cooper currently has interest from a pair of Championship clubs and has also begun to consider the idea of moving abroad as he waits for the right deal. Last summer he rejected the chance to go to the Middle East, with Leeds keen to keep him for the promotion fight.

As for Leeds, they remain in the market for a full-back, a central midfield option to compete with Ilia Gruev and Joe Rothwell for the number 8 spot and an attacking replacement for Crysencio Summerville. Talks with Norwich City over Jonathan Rowe are ongoing but as things stand Leeds are not anticipating significant movement ahead of Saturday's season opener against Portsmouth at Elland Road.