'Might come back' - Club chief refuses to rule out late move for £10m Leeds United star

Borussia Monchengladbach are yet to give up on signing Max Wober this summer with their sporting director opening up on the matter once again this week.

Gladbach’s desire to welcome Wober back at Borussia-Park has been an open secret all summer, with the Bundesliga side sufficiently impressed with his loan spell to sanction a permanent deal. The Austrian was one of several to force his way out of Elland Road through a loan clause in his contract, which became active following relegation to the Championship, and played regularly at his temporary home.

But the not-so-small matter of agreeing a fee with Leeds United proved a major stumbling block, with those in charge at Elland Road thought to want at least £10million - a fee Gladbach simply aren’t willing to match. The 26-year-old has since appeared to commit himself to playing under Daniel Farke, featuring regularly in pre-season, but the German club’s director, Roland Virkus, is refusing to let the matter go.

“These Max Wobers might come back onto the market right at the end,” Virkus told Tuesday’s print edition of German newspaper Rheinische Post. “Maybe they won’t play a role in their club or they’ll want to go somewhere else because there might be too many in the same position.”

Virkus has been very open regarding his side’s transfer business this summer and regularly spoken about Wober specifically, often to a similar tone of waiting to see if the chance arises to sign him further down the line. Last month, he told the same German newspaper that Gladbach could not meet Leeds’ ‘demands’ for the versatile defender, adding the matter was on hold ‘for the time being’.

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For all intents and purposes, Wober looks set to stay at Elland Road and play a role in the upcoming Championship promotion push, but it is unclear what exactly that role may be. A regular starter in the German top-flight and experienced Austrian international, he may have expected to come straight into the starting line-up but that is not the way Farke tends to operate and competition is fierce in his two possible positions.

At left-sided centre-back, vice captain Pascal Struijk has cemented himself as first-choice with a typically assured set of performances in pre-season, returning from a long spell out and looking every bit the defender he did beforehand. The Dutchman was hugely missed last season and Farke clearly loves his partnership with the aggressive Joe Rodon.

Wober’s pre-season appearances have usually come at left-back, and it is a role he could carry out comfortably at Championship level, but Junior Firpo enjoyed his best campaign in West Yorkshire last season and provides the kind of attacking threat his Austrian teammate does not. That ability to go forward is far more important as a possession-dominant Championship team and Firpo’s defensive frailties can be forgiven as a result.

Farke did flirt with a back-three in the opening summer friendly against Harrogate Town - a game Wober missed due to his late participation at Euro 2024 - but quickly reverted to his usual back-four when in Germany. He matched the latte formation during last weekend’s 2-1 win over Valencia and is expected to continue with it come Saturday and the visit of Portsmouth.