Leeds United hoping to complete loan deal for FC Utrecht defender Giovanni Troupee
Managing director Angus Kinnear insists the club are not afraid to take risks in the transfer market.
Leeds United are hoping to conclude a loan deal for FC Utrecht starlet Giovanni Troupee after the club's managing director Angus Kinnear revealed the powers at be at Elland Road are willing to "stretch financially" in order to give Thomas Christiansen's side every chance of achieving promotion back to the Premier League.
Troupee has had to make do with a peripheral role at Utrecht this season, making only eight league appearance as he attempts to dislodge manager Jean-Paul de Jong's first-choice right-back Sean Klaiber from his position in the Dutch municipality.
Despite seeing little action so far this season, Troupee has a number of suitors willing to take him on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Along with Leeds, who are also hopeful of concluding deals for Aston Villa duo Tommy Elphick and Ross McCormack as well as West Bromwich Albion forward Tyler Roberts, Serie A sides Sampdoria, Hellas Verona and Benevento are all considering a move for the 19-year-old, according to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, relayed by Sport Witness.
The Whites are looking to make a few additions to their squad before the end of the month as they seek to sustain a push for promotion.
Christiansen's side have already clinched the signatures of Laurens de Bock, Yosuke Ideguchi and Adam Forshaw this month, but managing director Kinnear, who confirmed that the Leeds hierarchy will reconsider their plan to redesign the club's badge after the announcement was met with widespread backlash, insists that those in charge at Elland Road are ready to take logical risks in order to give themselves the best possible chance of returning to the top-flight.
Leeds are currently pursuing Preston North End's Jordan Hugill but are not willing to spend £8m on the forward as they have some reservations of his all-round ability. Despite their reluctance to shell out a sizeable sum for the 25-year-old, who was keen to leave Deepdale in the summer, Kinnear was keen to stress that the Whites are prepared to gamble in the transfer market and is still confident of securing promotion this season.
"I think if we could identify that player [to fire Leeds to the Premier League] and we had to stretch financially to make it work, we'd make it work," Kinnear told BBC Radio Leeds, relayed by The Express.
"We're a board who are prepared to make calculated gambles but finding a combination of someone who we think can do that at his level and can hit the ground running and score 12 goals between now and the end of the season is challenging.
"It's particularly challenging when you start to look at the financials associated with those players. For the long-term sustainability of the club we have to make sensible decisions."
"Our belief has always been that we will get Leeds back to the Premier League in the medium term. I think we have a good chance still of doing it this season."