LEEDS chief Victor Orta admitted a deal for Norwich’s Todd Cantwell looks unlikely before Friday’s deadline.
The Whites have been tracking the playmaker since last season and have until Friday to buy EFL players.
Todd Cantwell’s move to Leeds appears to be off with just days of the transfer window remainingCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Championship Canaries want around £20million for their star man – and director of football Orta said a move for Cantwell, 22, now looks ‘difficult’.
Leeds have also monitored Derby youngster Louie Sibley, but the Spaniard is not confident of adding to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.
Orta said: “We are analysing but obviously the market is greatly reduced now.
“We know them really well, their clubs were our rivals, we analysed [Cantwell] in the Premier League.
“It’s difficult. They are players we analysed, we have information and then we need to think about the possibility.”
Having had his head turned by Leeds’ interest, Cantwell was left out of Norwich’s last few squads.
But the England Under-21 midfielder dropped a hint on Instagram over the weekend that his future, for now, remains at Carrow Road.
Cantwell posted a picture of himself celebrating a goal for the Canaries, alongside the caption: “I love my club. We rise together.”
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Bielsa has been desperate to add a midfielder and saw a £20m move for Bayern Munich’s Michael Cuisance collapse at the last minute over a failed medical.
But he has more urgent concerns at the back with centre-backs Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente injured on international duty and touch-and-go for next Monday’s clash against Wolves.
Scotland boss Steve Clarke confirmed Leeds skipper Cooper missed their 1-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday with a knock.
And Llorente was withdrawn from the Spain squad with a muscle injury for their clash against Ukraine on Tuesday.
Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell scores acrobatic goal in training ground shooting drill
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
