Leeds United defender Maximilian Wober is “close” to completing a temporary summer move to Borussia Monchengladbach, according to reliable reporter Phil Hay.
When did Maximilian Wober join Leeds?
The Whites centre-back only arrived in Yorkshire from RB Salzburg back in January and was a regular feature of the first-team for the remainder of the season having made a total of 19 appearances, but despite him still having another four years to run on his contract, there’s a chance that he could be set for an early departure.
The Austria international was originally signed by former boss Jesse Marsch and has since had to deal with plenty of inconsistency in the dugout having also been managed by Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, a situation that regardless of Daniel Farke being appointed, has seen several other players leave Elland Road.
So far this summer, Brenden Aaronson, Marc Roca, Robin Koch and Rasmus Kristensen have all secured loan exits, whilst Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts have both completed permanent switches to Al Rayyan and Birmingham City respectively, as per Transfermarkt, and the 25-year-old could be about to follow in their footsteps if the following update is to be believed.
Is Maximilian Wober leaving Leeds?
Taking to Twitter, Hay revealed that Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach are circling for Wober’s services and are set to finalise his signature despite club chiefs wanting to retain him at Leeds. He wrote:
“Max Wober close to joining Borussia Monchengladbach on a season-long loan. Clubs discussing a permanent option. Leeds planned to keep him but he told them ahead of the friendly with Monaco that he wanted to take the move.”
As a result of only been appointed over the summer, Farke won’t yet have had the chance to see what Wober is capable of in matches first hand, but the centre-back wasn’t short of praise from former boss Marsch, who claimed: “The one thing I know about Max is he's a leader. He is a very intelligent player and he's gifted. In that sense, he can play multiple positions.”
Leeds’ 6 foot 2 colossus, who pockets £35k-per-week, does indeed bring wonderful versatility to the squad having operated at left-back, defensive midfield and left midfield alongside his natural role throughout his career, but that’s not the only reason why the board should be doing everything they can to keep him beyond the summer window.
The Forza Sports Group client last season ranked in the 99th percentile for blocks and was averaging four clearances per top-flight game, highlighting just how much he put his body on the line to help the side, despite his individual and the team’s collective failed efforts to avoid relegation to the Championship.
The Whites even considering sanctioning the temporary sale of Wober seems crazy, let alone being in the process of negotiating a permanent clause within the terms of his prospective switch, so it certainly looks like the 49ers would be making a huge mistake by letting the defender go in the days and weeks ahead.
