Leeds United might have found new James Justin as ex-manager verdict speaks volumes on £5m deal
Leeds United look set to welcome Melvin Bard to Elland Road on transfer deadline day.
Likely Leeds United deadline day arrival Melvin Bard could occupy a similar versatile role to James Justin if comments from a previous manager are to be believed.
Bard looks set to join Leeds on loan from OGC Nice in a deal that could be worth around £5million if an option to buy is triggered. That option is worth £4.3m while the Whites will pay an initial £850,000 loan fee for the 25-year-old, who is expected to arrive in West Yorkshire for medical tests today.
A left-back by trade, Bard is initially expected to arrive as cover for first-choice Gabriel Gudmundsson but Leeds also like the Frenchman’s versatility. According to Transfermarkt, he’s played more than 30 games at centre-back while also operating as a defensive-minded left midfielder.
Many of those centre-back appearances came during the 2024/25 campaign in which then-manager Franck Haise deployed Bard on the left of a back three. And speaking at the time, he described why the imminent Leeds arrival suits the role perfectly with the right players alongside him.
“He has all the qualities to play centre-back in a three-man defence,” Haise said, as quoted by Get French Football News last year. “You can have aerial players around him to make up for [a lack of height].
“He is not the prototype of a centre-back, but he has what I want. He is difficult to get past one-v-one, he is able to play under pressure, play the ball out… he has a real versatility, for three all three positions: left-back, left wing-back and left centre-back.”
Bard’s ability to switch between full-back and centre-back will feel familiar among Leeds fans, who have grown to love James Justin over the past 12 months. The England international’s £8m arrival wasn’t met with huge excitement but he became an integral member of Daniel Farke’s squad last season.
Justin’s versatility saw him cover virtually every position across the defence but he was particularly impressive on the right of a back three, the position usually occupied by Joe Rodon. The former Leicester man’s full-back experience proved useful in what became a hybrid role under Farke.
Justin started every Premier League game during the second-half of last season and has been ever-present in the top-flight so far again this campaign. A hamstring injury to Rodon could see him return to that right centre-back role, with Gudmundsson back on the bench last weekend.