Leeds United Deadline Day Round-Up – Habibou, Morison and Warnock confirmed

Jan 31st, 2013 51 Comments

Steve MorisonLuciano Becchio is reunited with Bradley Johnson, Jonny Howson and Robert Snodgrass at Norwich City while Steve Morison moves to Elland Road in the biggest story for Leeds United on deadline day.

The player plus cash deal sees Leeds United net a few hundred thousand pounds while also securing the services of Steve Morison on a three and a half year contract.

Elsewhere, Leeds United have also signed Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock and completed a six month loan deal for African striker Habib Habibou.

The only other player to be linked with a move to Leeds on deadline day is Birmingham City winger Chris Burke, though there could yet be a surprise with the window open until 11pm tonight.

Will continue to update when/if things happen… 

January 2013 transfers

PLAYERS IN FROM FEE
Ross Barkley Everton Loan
Michael Tonge Stoke City Undisclosed
Ryan Hall Southend United Undisclosed
Steve Morison Norwich City Swap
Stephen Warnock Aston Villa Undisclosed
Habib Habibou SV Zulte Waregem Loan
PLAYERS OUT TO FEE
Luciano Becchio Norwich City Swap + U/fee
Robbie Rogers Released
Ramon Nunez Released
Andy Gray Bradford City Free

 

Tags: , , , , ,


Founder and editor of The Scratching Shed, born locally and have followed Leeds United all my life from the dizzying heights of Europe, to the dark depths of League One.

  • jon

    Nunez by mutual consent as well

  • kev raunds

    Good luck to Becchio,Morison and Warnock shoud do a job for us.Not sure gfh have done enough,only time will tell MOT

    • ryan

      i dont know mate personally if we get Burke i’d be very happy with this window, extended Byrams contract swapped becchio for a better player with a bit of pace, + a fee, Warnock also a good signing in my eyes its the best we have done in a transfer window in the last several years :)

      • philyew

        The jury has to be out on whether Morison will be an upgrade over Becchio. Right now all we know is that the top goalscorer is gone, and is replaced in the squad by someone considered less valuable by Becchio’s new employer.

        It needs another signing for it to feel more like a new start and less like just another Bates-style rearrangement of the deckchairs…

  • number1inyorkshire

    Not that bothered to see Becchio go think his replacement is arguably better all round, its about opinions and time will tell ..
    like warnock why is a villa side struggling allowing players like him leave is my only question there ..

    I would like to see habib habiboooooooo ,,or whatever his name is signed just for the hell of it really and we are missing a play maker although there is still time..

    • Ron

      The Warnock-Lambert relationship sounds tasty, so hopefully he wants to prove his bespectacled nemesis wrong by playing out of his skin for us.

      • djedjedje

        Ha! I was literally just thinking of this turnaround in a complete manner: that it was likely one less reason why Lambert might replace Neil Warnock anytime soon!

    • number1inyorkshire

      habi doofa has signed which i actually like him ,he will be an unknown to everyone at 6.4 ft he is a drogba type lump ..He will be an interesting one to sort a song for ..
      All in all though we aint been ripping up trees the players we have got are ok at this level but boy are we missing some wing play and creativity….

    • Irving08

      I think you should be bothered Number One. There are not many front that can score goals in as many different ways as Becchio, or can put themselves between the opposing player and the ball as well as him. He is a big loss, in my eyes.

  • djedjedje

    I’m disappointed the cash amount involved in the Becchio is ‘undisclosed’. Considering this deal remains one of the BBC’s sites leaderboard transfer’s of the day so far, and it is the only one undisclosed, you are left to wonder, why the fuck do GFH think they are so special that they can treat their club’s fans like shit. To do so is cowardly.

    If Becchio had left for many millions they’d declare it. It aint, so be it – just be honest GFH; be man enough to put on a front that says we are happy to sign Morison, he’s worth millions.

    GFH should know how suspicious Leeds fan rightfully are of owners, so undisclosed might as well read as ‘nowt’.

    • http://www.thescratchingshed.com/ TSS

      I think you’ll find almost every single deal is undisclosed, it’s incredibly rare for clubs to release that information. It’s mostly guesswork or chatty agents.

      I guess we’re just better at keeping such information private, or the press simply don’t care as much about clubs outside the top few.

  • djedjedje

    Shame Faurlin went to Palermo on loan – really thought Warncok as his ex-boss might have been able to convince him to come to Leeds for the rest of the season.

  • djedjedje

    TSS, you’re missing the mighty Rachubka, now out on loan for the rest of the season to Accrington Stanley, off your list.

  • KP

    Same old same old GFH have to be Bates in Disguise, so sad, waited all that time for the takeover , The asset stripping continues. I am staying away.

    • derbyshirewhite

      yeah I was hoping for Beckham and Ballotelli how about you?

      • http://zenmb.blogspot.com Dr Zen

        I was hoping for more than the worst defender in the Premiership, a useless striker and some tall dude, weren’t you?

        • PMH

          It’s January and you are choosing form discards. Clubs are either looking for promotion or avoiding relegation. No one is giving away top talent. Leeds did pretty well here.

          • http://zenmb.blogspot.com Dr Zen

            I agree with you on the whole about the time of year but Dull managed to pick up an up and comer and a player better than anyone in our side. I don’t know if you noticed but George Boyd was on the move, and I think we could have a use for him.

            I suppose “useless” is harsh on Morison, and I hope he does get back to his best, which wasn’t as bad as he’s mostly been at Norwich.

            I expect you’ll be agreeing with me about Warnock soon though. If we’d picked up the Warnock of say three years ago, I’d be much more excited. Maybe he regains his confidence and makes a fool of me. I hope so.

  • mrbigwheels

    Has Chris Burke been ‘swooned’ by Forest yet?. Am told he headed for Leeds some time ago. This one will place GFHC squarely. Not easy doing the shop… without any money.

  • Charlie Big Potatoes

    How about someone to cross the friggin ball?! I can only assume NW isnt playin Hall because his pace will make the rest of the team look bad. Ive got faith in NW but we’ve got a chronic lack of pace in attacking areas which simply must be addressed. Fingers crossed…

    On a side note i live in excile down in Norwich and January is proving to be a right royal annual pain in the nuts, being surrounded as i am by chirping budgies. My “Leeds rejects” and “League 1 midfield” arguments dont hold much weight these days…sigh.

  • Pete Sasqwax

    Chubs, Pugh & Paddy Kisnorbo all out on loan too, let’s not forget. Charlie Taylor also up at Inverness CT. Sort it out, lads ;~ )

    • nora battys tights

      what about connolly

      • Pete Sasqwax

        WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK ABOUT CONNOLLY!

  • Lufc1979ish

    When you look at the ins and outs I think we have to be fairly happy with that. A quick winger would be the icing on the cake though.

    • Pete Sasqwax

      If we don’t sign Habibou after sorting out so many new songs for him I’m burning my “Sgt. Wilko’s Army” inflatable rocket

      • Ron

        He just signed on. Sing away

  • richard

    when you look at the players in, it’s not a bad january. solid midfielders, experienced defender in warnock to help develop the younger ones at the back and a striker who last year was scoring against the best in the country. I dont think promotion is on this year but if the summer is anything like this we could have a chance. Finally not just relying on loan signings, 4 permanent deals there!

  • Ron

    I think the most significant transfer for Leeds tonight is one we are not involved in, namely Everton chasing Fer. If they get him, it appears that Barkley will be free to stay out on loan as Everton should be fine for midfield cover. Having him until the end of the campaign would be a coup.

    Morison scores goals, he has wherever he has been. Let’s get behind him, however, he is injured at the present which is a small dampener considering we have high-flying Cardiff up next.

  • Jimmy the red

    Leeds still owned by bates this is another company he has why the fuck would new owners want that tosser as president next year what a wanker. Jimmy the red

    • http://www.thescratchingshed.com/ TSS

      Because Bates is a stubborn old fool who wanted to cling on somehow and this was the only way the deal could be completed.

      The “Bates still owns LUFC” conspiracy theory makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why would he go through six months of nonsense just so he could pretend he’d sold the club? Silly theory, it really is.

      • Jimmy the red

        He did that 2 convince Leeds fans he was going and lots. Bought season tickets and them boxes built 4 rugby world cup that’s why he’s not bothered about leeds just making money

        • http://www.thescratchingshed.com/ TSS

          No they didn’t, attendances plummeted while it was dragging on. He’d wouldn’t have dragged it out for six months if it was a con, absolute nonsense mate. Makes no sense.

          Who do you support BTW? No self-respecting LUFC fan would call himself Jimmy “the red”

          • Irving08

            We could do with a left winger at Elland Road.

          • mrbigwheels

            You will get one… but not today Irving. Roll on Cardiff.

        • Guest

          Failed Troll?

          • djedjedje

            Thomas Brolin.

  • djedjedje

    Nice one, we’ve signed some ‘icing on the cake’ at last – Haribo on loan until the end of the season – with some intent to buy thereafter. Dead excited about this transfer – largely as I’ve never seen him play.

    • http://www.thescratchingshed.com/ TSS

      Well I’ve seen him on YouTube clearing a duck from the pitch. It was enough to convince me he’s the next Tony Yeboah.

      • djedjedje

        Maybe Warnock thinks winter is not quite over and we’ll need some fella who is good at getting unwanted stuff off the pitch – in which case, let’s hope he is good at shoveling the Brown stuff of the pitch and we can stop playing long-ball nonsense.

      • Irving08

        Austin is surely a warning against judging a player on the basis of Utube.

  • spellz

    I am really excited about the signings Warnock will be solid at the back especially in the championship need someone every now and again to slap lee peltier on the head and tell him how to defend even though I rated his performance against tottenham.

    Habib I look forward to seeing as I think he will be the eye catcher and after watching several videos I think he has the potential to do really well at our club, morrison also is a great signing I am sorry to see beccs go and thank him for the service he put in for the mighty whites but it is a new era and were still marching on together, bring on Cardiff.

    • http://zenmb.blogspot.com Dr Zen

      Warnock has been worse than terrible for a year now. There’s some hope he regains his confidence but atm he’s a reclamation job. And seriously, if you haven’t learned by now not to judge people on their youtubes, I don’t know what to tell you.

      • spellz

        Warnock is experienced and solid even if he hasn’t been the best in the past year and is a consistent premiership player which undoubtedly will help at the level were playing in.

        And dont judge people on you tube? why is you tube fake or something?

        I dont see anyone talking about Ramon Nunez being the next Henry, I have reason to be excited, take your miserable self back to the drawing board and think of some other negativity to write on someone elses post.

        • http://zenmb.blogspot.com Dr Zen

          Nah, I think you need to shuck off the rose-tinted glasses. The fact is, Dull City spent 2 mill on a young star and another 1.5 on a player better than anyone in our team. I’m entitled to feel negative about our lack of ambition. I’m hoping Morison will regain his form, but seriously, if you weren’t hoping for a bit better, you’ve settled for mediocrity.

          And yeah, youtubes can be faked. Editing can make almost anyone look good. I hope Habibou comes good, but scouting by youtube is almost always a bad idea.

  • djedjedje

    Well, if that is the transfer window shut then, for me, it’s a mixed set of results with a slight positive uplift.

    Positives:

    1. Morison may well be a decent replacement for Becchio. He of course wont be Becchio, but his pace and poachers eye for a goal are feathers in his bow that Becchio lacked, IMHO. If it means we have to stop hoofing it up to a now departed Becchio then that is perhaps the best result of the transfer window.

    2. Haribo is a complete unknown. Wildcards are always exciting, and I imagine the biggest draw for any stay-away fans thinking about a possible return to Elland Road will be to see what this new lad is all about.

    3. Whilst Stephen Warnock is not every fans first call for a leftback – he at least brings experience to a position that we have long struggled to fill. If a partnership blossoms with White in front of him then that’s a win-win. As we have failed to bring in any wide players, I can only imagine that Warnock has reconsidered where to play White. Or else it’ll be Hall and Stephen Warnock will have his work cut out with Hall being less defensive minded than he should be.

    4. Central midfield, whilst not inspiring, is solid enough. As he gains fitness, Tonge should be more than good enough at this level. Norris is OK. Even Brown has had a few star performances in the last week. Austin looks like he needs a talking too. Green looks like one of the more intelligent lads on our books, and only needs to get fullmatch fitness to make a bigger impact. The star of the midfield is likely to be the Everton lad – as long as Warnock plays him in the middle, and attacking, not stuck out on a wing (time will tell).

    5. Aside from Becchio, of whom we were softened up to wanting out, no other main first team players got snapped up.

    Negatives.

    1. We still lack width. Hall and possibly White are the only real wingers we have. Some say Haribo can play the wing, but a 6″4′ pacey lad should surely be used upfront by us as?! Let’s hope that Warnock has taken note and McCormack and Barkley are wasted on the wing. So to are Diouf and Green – as they aren’t proper wingers – but at least they can swing a cross in. Wingers remain an in-progress area to be improved (possibly with loanees?)

    2. We have little first team crown jewels left to sell. Once Becchio was picked up, perhaps Byram and Lees aside, we really don’t have many established players left to fend off bidders for, And that’s a worry.

    3. Defensively we are quite short. At centreback we have only Peltier, Lees and Pearce as established in this position. Possibly Warnock could cover, but two from three is not a strong position to be in.

    4. Perhaps most disappointing of all is that once again we have made money in the transfer window and not spent a penny in fees. We offloaded quite a few from the wage bill and probably have broken even on the wage inflows and outflows because Becchio was, apparently on good money. Whilst in any other business this would be heralded as a success, Leeds fans have rightly become suspicious of our owners and their lack of ambition. Spending a few hundred thousand, perhaps a million on one player even (we can dream) would really have shown (crudely) a very real ambition. If it brought a few thousand back to Elland Road it would pay for itself too. Neither would this money have been wasted. With Birmingham declaring themselves a selling club a month ago, and Boyd transfer listed all season, in Boyd (with or without his specks) and Burke there really were two creative wide players that could have snapped up for less than a £1m if had shown that kind of ambition. And let’s not even talk of Chris Wood. It’ll be interesting to hear how GFH consider their first transfer window went, and if it meets the expectations of Leeds fans.

    • Ron

      Your last point could have been written for the last 5 years. Nothing at Leeds has really changed and after suffering through a protracted ‘takeover’, we find ourselves in exactly the same position. In the summer we’ll sell Byram or Lees, then McCormack, Somma or Poleon (the highest scorer of the three) will be sold this time next year. The riches of Bahrain………

    • Irving08

      I wish I could share your ‘slight positive uplift’. We lose our top scorer, who was enjoying his best season with the club; gain a slow left back, just when it seemed that Warnock had settled upon a defence that was earning plaudits for its pace; acquire in Morison, another right-footed offensive player,ominously carrying a thigh injury who, despite his merits and a confident radio interview, is unlikely to unsettle defenders to the degree that Becchio did; and then take an unproven player on loan, who has been hawked around a good number of English clubs, and whose profile does not suggest that he is other than big, fast and clumsy. By mid-December, it seemed that we had reached a measure of agreement on what we needed: a creative midfielder and someone to stretch the play out wide, going forward. We have not addressed either of these needs. Oh well, as Engels said at the old man’s graveside, ‘we’re not for giving up yet’.

      • djedjedje

        I understand your reserves, Irving. We definitely didn’t get all we want, but our old friend the loan market will kick in soon, so we may add the width we need then.

        I am mainly thinking that we only lost one first team regular – which for a Championship team in the January transfer window, that is probably about parr. That it happened to be our topscorer takes the gloss off this outcome – but to be honest we’ve been lucky to keep him for four and half seasons and once the Premiership was on the cards we couldn’t really stop him.

        So it comes down to whether Morison and/or the wildcard Haribo are suitable replacements? Time will tell, but whoever we had gone after as a replacement would need time to fit in so a quick fill was never on the cards.

        I think Morison is quite a bit like Andy Keogh, just more direct. I always thought Keogh was worth keeping, and he has done well since moving on to Millwall, so Morison may well prosper at Leeds with a better service from Diouf and MacCormack, possibly Barkley too. This said, in his absence from thigh injury it will be interesting to see who Warnock uses up front against Cardiff – Diouf and MacCormack? seems a bit slight; Haribo in a pressure debut?; one upfront – a bit negative; time for a Somma renaissance, or Poleon to blossom?

        • Irving08

          If Morison works for McCormack like Keogh did then it could work out (McCormack seems to be a difficult player to play with). I expect Varney to start against Cardiff. Warnock in the Indy says he reckons he got the best of the Norwich deal and that his namesake has come in the expectation that he’s playing week-in-week out, and that he’s stiil after a winger on loan. Meanwhile Holloway picks up Nimely from Man City for the rest of the seaon loan. Remember him ? – waltzed through our defence last season – seems like my advocacy was not enough. Morison needed a scan on his thigh as well as a medical. No comments.

  • singapore white

    Habib…….Habib……Habibou
    Habib…….Habib……Habibou…oh..oooh…oooh

    to the tune of Coldplay’s Paradise

  • GrandeurlyLUFC

    Why is everyone banging on about using youtube as a scout? I think he majority are missing the link here! Fuck Youtube. Until a week ago we had the pleasure of having the great ‘Arthur Daley’ of football scout him for us. He may not be Loic Remy but if Harry was sniffing around him then i dnt care if he was on youtube struggling to spell ‘ball’, i want to be there to see him kick his first one for us. Plus why chase Burke for crazy money when he would still be an excellent squad player nxt season for free! Chasing the promiseland was Ridsdales ethos if i remember correctly and the remnants of that dream is still our current reality. NW has six months left on his contract if he hasn’t renewed it by beginning of March i think that is indicator enough for GFH future direction. If my theory is true then is it better business to do what you can for next to nothing and consolidate for next season when you can get that big fat cockney monkey of your back and start afresh with your new vision…. Or…. Do you immediately enlighten us fans for our own peace of mind and either get in a new manager during Jan and give him NW current squad and a wantaway striker with no funds to put an immediate personal stamp on the team coz Jan is a financial mine field or risk alienating our manager and current squad by informing the public of NW demise at the end of the season…. I think they have been clever and diligent and kept the doors as closed as possible while that leech is still walking the corridors of Elland Rd. What we want is new owners/ new manager/ new season= NEW START mot

© 2013 The Scratching Shed. All rights reserved.
Logo design by Confid3ntial