Leeds United set for emotional Elland Road reunion as summer transfer saga nears conclusion

The YEP understands Cooper's move back to hometown club Hull could be concluded in the next couple of days. The centre-back spent a decade with the Tigers having joined at Under 12 level and made senior appearances in the top flight and Championship before moving to Chesterfield in League Two. Having won the title and promotion to League One, Cooper attracted the attention of Leeds United and made a £600k transfer in August 2014.

Cooper captained Marcelo Bielsa's promotion-winning side of 2020 and wore the armband in the Premier League before Leeds' relegation back to the Championship in 2023. Last summer he turned down a lucrative move to the Middle East, opting to stay at Elland Road as part of Daniel Farke's new-look regime, but an opening-day injury saw him lose his place in the side to Pascal Struijk and then Ethan Ampadu.

With his contract coming to an end this summer, Cooper's hope was that he could extend his stay at Elland Road beyond the decade mark but Leeds made only a suggestion of what they would be willing to consider in principle, which included a salary reflective of gametime and his place in the pecking order. Talks took place between Cooper's camp and the club but no contract offer came. After coming close to a move to Blackburn Rovers and considering options abroad this summer, Cooper was spotted watching his former club Hull City at the weekend and is now close to a deal.

Leeds welcome Hull to Elland Road on Saturday to renew their rivalry with a 3pm kick-off in the Championship. Cooper's exit is yet to be officially addressed by Leeds or the player himself. Farke has essentially confirmed that Cooper would not be coming back and praised his leadership abilities a number of times since pre-season began. The German named Ampadu as the new club captain, with Pascal Struijk and Illan Meslier his vice captains.

Hull sit 14th in the Championship having drawn all of their first three outings of the season, while Leeds are also yet to taste league defeat with two draws and a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.