Many football fans did not anticipate Leeds United captain Liam Cooper to be one of the numerous players this summer who have been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al-Nassr in January, a wave of talented players left the major European football clubs for the Middle East.
The greatest names to move to the Saudi Pro League include Neymar, Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Fabinho, N’Golo Kante, Aymeric Laporte, and Jordan Henderson. Cooper could have been included on that list earlier this summer.
On Saturday, September 2, Athletic journalist Phil Hay wrote that the 32-year-old Leeds captain had turned down a transfer to Saudi Arabia during the summer transfer window.
He reportedly chose to stay at Elland Road rather than travel to the Middle East like Ronaldo and Neymar, and he has been open to signing a new deal as his current one expires the next year.
Sadly for the Hull-born Scotland international, he suffered an ankle injury while playing against Cardiff City on the first day of the season. He scored in the 2-2 draw at Elland Road.
At this point in his career, Cooper is nearing the conclusion.
He’ll be the first to confess that, by his standards, the previous season wasn’t up to par because Leeds were demoted from the Premier League. The former Hull center-back only played 18 times in the league last season as a result of several absences due to injuries and conditioning difficulties.
Cooper recently turned 32 years old, and given his deteriorating form and rising injury difficulties, who’s to say that a move to Saudi Arabia isn’t still a possibility before their transfer window closes on Thursday, September 7, at 10 p.m. (British time).
Based on the sums that have been spent on players from Saudi Arabian teams this summer, Cooper’s move will change his life.
Naturally, he wouldn’t generally be mentioned when people talk about the talent influx to the Saudi Pro League alongside names like Ronaldo, Neymar, and Benzema (maybe he’s more on par with the Jason Denayer signing at Al-Fateh).
But if there is money involved, Cooper wouldn’t care about that.
Who is to say that he will even feature in half of Leeds’ Championship games this season if he continues to suffer from injuries?
Does he replace Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, or Charlie Cresswell even if he is healthy?
Fair enough, Cooper’s time in the spotlight at Leeds ended a long time ago, and despite what he told the team at the end of last season when relegation was assured, we wouldn’t begrudge him if he were to fly to Saudi Arabia in the next 24 to 36 hours.
