Journalist Phil Hay has claimed that "people close" to one player say there is a belief his days "are done" at Leeds United in another failed transfer.
Whites chase Premier League promotion
Manager Daniel Farke has been doing a solid job since making the move to West Yorkshire over the summer, with his new-look Leeds side winning four out of their last five Championship matches.
They look on course to contend for immediate promotion straight back to the Premier League, with a flurry of winnable games awaiting Farke after the international break ends.
Rotherham and Swansea City take on Leeds soon after every club's players return from their tour of duty, and Farke's side will go into both contests as heavy favourites.
Their stature among their domestic rivals is made all the more impressive by the fact they were forced to loan a host of players over the summer window, with Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, Jack Harrison, Max Wober, Rasmus Kristensen, Diego Llorente, Marc Roca, Sam Greenwood, Robin Koch, Cody Drameh and Sonny Perkins all away on temporary deals right now.
The plethora of departures was actually tipped to damage Leeds' hopes of an immediate climb back up to the first tier, with former Whites title winner Jon Newsome previously worried for them.
“Leeds went down last season because their recruitment policy clearly didn't work, not just in terms of players, but also in the managers and coaches they hired," said Newsome to The Mirror in August (via Leeds Live).
"But I think they would be hard-pushed to find someone with a better record than Daniel Farke to get them back up.
"Your best chance of reaching the Premier League is the first season after being relegated because you’re getting the parachute payment and can keep at least some of your best talent.
"So far, though, a lot of players have jumped ship, with only Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow having arrived. New signings are needed urgently in every position."
Fast-forward to now, and Leeds are actually looking in pretty good stead, though it remains to be seen what happens with the aforementioned loanees if Farke does manage to reach the Premier League at the first attempt.
Roca's days at Leeds "are done"
Hay has an update on one of them, with "people close" to Marc Roca of the opinion that he feels his days at Leeds "are done", and that the midfielder won't get recalled to the squad after his loan stint at Real Betis.
The Spaniard has made a brilliant start to life at Betis, with the La Liga side even having an option to sign Roca permanently in the summer.
However, Betis also aren't exactly rich and may struggle to pull this off financially.
"Roca has made a much better impression at Seville-based Betis than he did in England and it appears that his style and strengths are far more suited to La Liga than they were to the Premier League," wrote Hay for The Athletic.
"Betis sought an option to sign Roca permanently, and the only obstacle for them might be their tight budget. They are not cash-rich. But Leeds have no plans to re-involve him and people close to Roca say he is also minded to think that his days at Elland Road are done. His £10million move from Bayern Munich in summer 2022 goes down as another failed transfer."