Chopra at Cardiff

After starting the day with rumours that Nile Ranger could be joining Leeds on loan, the Elland Road rumour mill just keeps churning them out and has now put Cardiff City’s, Michael Chopra in the frame for a move to Leeds United.

Various sources are claiming that both Leeds United and Ipswich Town are preparing to move for the unsettled Cardiff striker, with a fee of £3,000,000 believed to be enough to tempt the cash-strapped Welsh side.

Undoubtedly capable of scoring goals at this level, Chopra is a player any Championship club would be happy to have in their team. Unfortunately for Leeds fans, £3,000,000 is more than the cumulative total of money spent so far by Bates, and he’s unlikely to change his stance for one player.

Bates would be right not to as well. £3,000,000 is a lot of money at Championship level, and the only reason Chopra is valued so highly is because of Peter Ridsdale’s Championship price-inflating regime. To put things into perspective, Gary Hooper cost Celtic £600,000 less than the reported cost for Chopra, and the highly-rated Simeone Jackson moved to Norwich for half that price.

Considering the players Simon Grayson has brought in with very little or no funds, I’m sure he could do a lot more with £3,000,000. With that in mind, I can’t see there being any truth in this rumour whatsoever.