As Leeds United fans continued to decide whether they thought Michael Brown was a good signing or not last night, rumours of two players currently on trial with the club started to circulate.

The first rumour involves former Derby County and West Brom midfielder Giles Barnes and came from former Nottingham Forest player-turned football agent David Johnson via his twitter account.

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Leeds United fans sought clarification following this tweet due to the question mark at the end. When asked how he knew Barnes was at Leeds, Johnson replied with this;

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It had earlier been claimed that Barnes was on trial with Nottingham Forest, a club Johnson still has close ties with. It seems Forest decided against signing the 22-year old and he is now trying to earn a contract with the Whites.

As a youngster Barnes was considered to be a star of the future but a combination of bad luck and injuries caused him to be released after almost 100 games by Derby County. He went on to spend two seasons at West Brom, but once again he was blighted by injuries and managed just 27 appearances.

There is little doubt that fully fit, the former England U18 International is a highly capable footballer who would be an asset to any Championship club. However, if he is on trial with Leeds United at the moment you have to wonder why Nottingham Forest decided not to offer him a contract?

The second rumour involves Alexei Emerenko but spent most of yesterday being confirmed, then withdrawn, then confirmed again. It seems the Russian midfielder is currently in Scotland where he has been trying out for a contract at Celtic. The Scottish club’s fans seem to think he’ll be pulling a green and white striped shirt on this Saturday and appearing for them in a pre-season friendly.

However, rumour has it that the Russian may also have tried out for Leeds United and that he may be appearing for us against Motherwell this Saturday too. So which (if any) of these rumours is actually the truth?

It’s possible the Russian may have tried out for both clubs and is simply weighing up his options. Out of contract players will want to keep as many doors as possible open to maximise their chances of finding a new team before the season begins and with Leeds United currently training nearby, it’s not unthinkable that an approach was made to try out.

The interest from Celtic is not unexpected. Eremenko spent last season on-loan to Kilmarnock where he made 31 appearances scoring four goals. By the end of the season the midfielder had firmly established himself in Scotland and was amongst the nominees for the Scottish Players, Player of the Year Award. His success was followed by rumours linking him with a move to one of the Old Firm sides.

Emerenko’s previous clubs won’t fill Leeds United fans with much confidence (FC Jokerit and Metalist Kharkiv anyone?) but he does have significant experience at international level with 52 caps and 13 goals for Finland.